<7 

University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


A 

NARRATIVE 

OF    THE 

MUTINY, 

ON    BOARD    THE 


OF  NANTUCKET, 

IN  THE 

PACIFIC  OCEAN,  JAN.  1824- 

AND    THE 

JOURNAL, 

OF    A 

RESIDENCE  OF  TWO  YEARS 

ON    THE 

MULGRAVE  ISLANDS; 

WITH    OBSERVATIONS    ON    THE    MANNERS    AND 
CUSTOMS    OF    THE    INHABITANTS. 


BY  WILLIAM  LAY,  OF  SAYBROOK,  CONN.  AND 

CYRUS  M.  HUSSEY,  OF  NANTUCKET  : 
The  only  Survivors  from  the  Massacre  of  the  Ship's  Com 
pany  by  the  Natives. 


NEW-LONDON  : 
PUBLISHED  BY  WM.  LAY,  AND  C.  M.  HUSSEY. 


1828; 


DISTRICT  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  TO  WIT. 

District  Clerk's  Office. 

BE  IF  REMEMBERED,  that  on  the  twenty-fourth  day  of 
October,  A.  D.  1827,  in  the  fifty -second  year  of  the  independ 
ence  of  the  United  States  of  America,  WILLIAM  LAY  and 
CYRUS  M.  HUSSEY,  of  the  said  District,  have  deposited  in 
this  Office,  the  title  of  a  Book,  the  Right  whereof  they  claim 
as  Proprietors,  in  the  words  following,  to  wit  ; 

"  A  Narrative  of  the  mutiny  on  board  the  Ship  Globe,  of 
Nantucket,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Jan.  1824,  and  a  Journal  of  a 
residence  of  two  years  on  the  Mulgrave  Islands,  with  observa 
tions  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants.  By  Wil 
liam  Lay,  of  Saybrook,  Coon,  and  Cyrus  M.  Hussey,  of  Nan- 
tucket,  the  only  Survivors  from  the  Massacre  of  the  Ship's 
Company,  by  the  Natives." 

In  conformity  to  the  act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States 
entitled  "  an  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  secur 
ing  the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and 
Proprietors  of  such  Copies  during  the  limes  therein  mention- 
ed  :"  and  also  to  an  act  entitled  "  an  act  supplementary  to  act 
act,  entitled  an  act,  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by 
securing  the  Copies  of  Maps,  Charts,  and  Books  to  the  Authors 
and  Proprietors  of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  men 
tioned  ;  and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  De 
signing,  Engraving,  and  Etching  Historical  and  other  Prints. *: 
JNO.  W.  DAVIS, 

Clerk  of  the  District  of  Mawachutett*. 


.  Green,  Fnnfer. 


TO  JOHN  PERCIVAL,  ESQ. 

OF  THE  U.  S.  N7AVY, 
Who,  under  the  auspices  of  Govern 
ment,  visited  the  Mulgrave  Islands,  to 
release  the  survivors  of  the  Ship  Globe's 
crew,  and  extended  to  them  every  at 
tention  their  unhappy  situation  requir 
ed — the  following  Narrative  is  most  re 
spectfully  dedicated,  by 

WILLIAM  LAY,  & 
CYRUS  M.  HUSSEY, 

The  Authors 


INTRODUCTION. 


FORMERLY  whales  were 
taken  in  the  North  Seas :  the  largest 
were  generally  found  about  Spitzber- 
gen,  or  Greenland,  some  of  them  meas 
uring  ninety  feet  in  length.  At  the  com 
mencement  of  the  hazardous  enterprize 
of  killing  whales,  before  they  had  been 
disturbed  by  man,  they  were  so  numer 
ous  in  the  bays  and  harbours,  that  when 
taken  the  blubber  was  for  the  most  part 
boiled  into  oil  upon  the  contiguous  coast. 

The  pure  oil  and  whale  bone  were 
only  preserved  in  those  days  ;  conse 
quently  a  ship  could  carry  home  the 
product  of  a  greater  number  of  whales 
than  a  ship  of  the  same  size  now  can, — 
Indeed,  so  plentiful  were  the  whales  in 
those  seas,  and  taken  with  such  facility, 
that  the  ships  employed,  were  not  suffi 
cient  to  carry  home  the  oil  and  bone, 
and  other  ships  were  often  sent  to  bring 
2 


VI 

home  the  surplus  quantity.  But  the 
coasts  of  these  countries,  were  soon  vis 
ited  by  ships  from  Denmark,  Hamburgh, 
and  Holland,  as  well  as  from  England  ; 
and  from  frequently  being  killed  in  the 
shoal  water  near  the  coasts,  the  whales 
gradually  receded  from  the  shores,  and 
have  since  been  found  only  in  deeper 
water,  and  at  a  much  greater  distance 
from  the  land. 

In  the  earlier  stages  of  the  whale  fish 
ery,  of  which  we  are  now  treating,  the 
ships  were  generally  on  the  whaling 
waters,  early  in  May,  and  whether  suc 
cessful  or  not,  they  were  obliged  to 
commence  their  return  by  the  succeed 
ing  August,  to  avoid  the  early  accumu 
lation  of  ice  in  those  seas.  B'it  it  not 
unfrequently  happened,  that  ships  pro 
cured  and  returned  with  a  cargo  in  the 
months  of  June  and  July,  making  a  voy 
age  only  about  three  months,  whereas, 
a  voyage  to  the  Pacific  Ocean  is  now 
often  protracted  to  three  years  ! 

Among  the  early  whalers  it  was  cus 
tomary  to  have  six  boats  to  a  ship,  and 
six  men  to  a  boat,  besides  the  harpoon- 
er.  What  at  that  time  was  considered 
an  improved  method  in  killing  whales, 
consisted  in  discharging  the  harpoon, 


Vll 

from  a  kind  of  swivel  ;  but  it  was  soon 
found  to  be  attended  with  too  much  in 
convenience  to  be  much  practised,  and 
the  muscular  arms  and  steady  nerves  of 
the  harpooner,  have  ever  since  perform 
ed  the  daring  duty,  of  first  striking  the 
whale.  The  ropes  attached  to  the  har 
poon,  used  to  be  about  200  fathoms  in 
length,  and  some  instances  occurred, 
that  all  the  lines  belonging  to  six  boats, 
were  fastened  together  and  ran  out  by 
one  whale,  the  animal  descending  in 
nearly  a  perpendicular  line  from  the 
surface.  Instead  of  going  prepared  to 
bring  home  a  ship  load  of  oil<>  it  was  cus- 
tom^ry  to  bring  only  the  blubber,  and 
instead  of  trying  the  oil  out  and  putting 
it  into  casks  on  board,  the  fat  of  the 
whale  was  cut  up  into  suitable  pieces, 
pressed  hard  in  tubs  carried  out  for 
the  purpose^  and  in  this  situation  was 
the  return  cargo  received  at  home. 

Of  sogreat  consequence  was  the  whale 
fishery  considered  to  Great  Britain,  that 
a  bounty  of  40s.  for  every  ton,  when  the 
ship  was  200  tons,  or  upwards,  was  giv 
en  to  the  crews  of  ships  engaged  in  that 
business  in  the  Greenland  seas,  under 
certain  conditions.  But  this  bounty 
was  found  to  draw  too  largely  upon  the 


viii 

treasury  ;  and  while  the  subject  was 
under  discussion  in  the  British  Parlia 
ment,  in  1786,  it  was  stated  that  the 
sums  which  that  country  had  paid  in 
bounties  to  the  Greenland  fishers,,  a- 
mounted  to  1,265,461  pounds  sterling. 
Six  thousand  seamen  were  employed  in 
that  fishery,  and  each  cost  the  govern 
ment  £13  10s.  per  annum.  The  great 
encouragement  given  to  that  branch  of 
commerce,  caused  so  large  a  number  to 
engage  in  it,  that  the  oil  market  became 
glutted,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to 
export  considerable  quantities. 

In  1786,  the  number  of  British  ships 
engaged  in  the  whale  fishery  to  Davis's 
Strait  and  the  Greenland  seas,  was  139, 
besides  15  from  Scotland;  In  1787, 
notwithstanding  the  bounty  had  been 
diminished,  the  number  of  English  ships 
was  217,  and  the  following  year  222. 

The  charter  right  of  the  Island  of 
Nantucket,  was  bought  by  Thomas  May- 
hew,  of  Watertown,  of  Joseph  Ferrick, 
steward  to  Lord  Sterling,  in  1641 ;  and 
afterwards  sold  to  Tristram  Coffin,  and 
his  associates,  who  settled  upon  it  in 
1659.  On  the  10th  of  May,  1660,  Sa 
chems,  Wonnook,  and  Nickannoose, 
for  and  in  behalf  of  the  nations  of  the 


IX 

Island,  in  consideration  of  the  sum*  of 
26/.  sterling,  conveyed  by  deed,  about 
half  of  the  Island,  to  the  first  ten  pur 
chasers,  who  afterwards  took  in  other 
associates. 

Whaling  from  Nantucket,  was  first 
carried  on  from  the  shore  in  boats.  In 
1672,  James  Loper  entered  into  a  con 
tract  with  toe  inhabitants  ot  the  Island, 
for  the  purpose  of  prosecuting  the  whale 
fishery,  by  which  it  appears  that  James 
Loper  agreed  to  be  one  third  in  the  en- 
terprize,  and  sundry  other  people  of 
the  Island,  the  other  two  thirds,  in  ev 
ery  thing  connected  with  the  underta 
king.  It  was  farther  stipulated,  that 
for  every  whale  killed  by  any  one  of 
the  contracting  party,  the  town  should 
receive  five  shillings,  and  for  the  en 
couragement  of  James  Loper,  the  town 
granted  him  ten  acres* of  land  in  some 
convenient  situation,  and  liberty  for  the 
commonage  of  three  cows,  twenty  sheep 
and  one  horse,  with  necessary  wood 
and  water  for  his  use,  on  condition  that 
he  should  follow  the  trade  of  whaling  for 
two  years,  build  upon  his  land,  &c.  &c. 

Thus  ic  will  be  seen  that  the  com 
mencement  of  whaling  at  Nantucket, 
was  on  a  very  small  scale,  and  practised 


X 

oftly  along  the  shores  of  the  Island  ; — 
whereas,  at  this  time,  our  ships  leave 
no  seas  unexplored  in  pursuit  of  these 
monsters  of  the  deep.  We  might  pur 
sue  the  subject  through  the  various  sta 
ges  of  improvement  up  to  this  time,  but 
it  would  swell  this  introduction  beyond 
the  limits  designed.  It  is  proper,  how 
ever,  to  observe  that  the  present  num 
ber  of  ships  employed  in  the  whale  fish 
ery  from  Nantucket,  is  about  70,  avera 
ging  about  350  tons  each,  and  manned 
by  about  1500  seamen. 


NARRATIVE,  <&C. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  Ship  Globe,  on  board  of  which 
vessel  occurred  the  horrid  transactions 
we  are  about  to  relate,  belonged  to  the 
Island  of  Nantucket  ;  she  was  owned 
by  Messrs.  C.  Mitchell,  &  Co.  and  oth 
er  merchants  of  that  place  ;  and  com 
manded  on  this  voyage  by  Thomas 
Worth,  of  Edgartown,  Martha's  Vine 
yard.  William  Beetle,  (mate,)  John 
Lumbard,  (2d  mate,)  Nathaniel  Fisher, 
(3d  mate,)  Gilbert  Smith,  (boat  steerer,) 
Samuel  B.  Comstock>  do.  Stephen  Kid- 
der,  seaman,  Peter  C,  Kidder,  do.  Co 
lumbus  Worth,  do  Rowland  Jones,  do, 
John  Cleveland,  do.  Constant  Lewis, 
do.  Holden  Henman,  do.  Jeremiah  Ing- 
liam,  do,  Joseph  Ignasius  Prass,  do. 


12 

Cyrus  M.  Hussey,  cooper,  Rowland 
Coffin,  do,  George  Comstock,  seaman, 
and  William  Lay*  do. 

On  the  15th  day   of  December,  we 
sailed  from   Edgaiton,    on   a  whaling 
voyage,  to  the    Pacific  Ocean,  but  in 
working  out,  having  carried  away  the 
cross-jack-yard,  we   returned  to   port, 
and  after  having  refitted  and  sent  aloft 
another,  we  sailed  again  on  the    19th, 
and  on  the  same  day  anchored  in  Holmes' 
Hole.     On  the  following  day  a  favoura 
ble  opportunity  offering  to  proceed  to 
sea,  we  got  under  way,  and  after  having 
cleared  the  land,  discharged  the   pilot, 
made  sail,  and  performed  the  necessary 
duties  of  stowing  the  anchors,  unbend 
ing  and  coiling^away  the  cables,  &c. — 
On  the  1st  of  January  1823,  we  experi 
enced  a  heavy  gale  from  N.  W.  which 
was  but  the  first  in  the  catalogue  of  diffi 
culties  we  were  fated  to  encounter. — 
As  this  was  our  fjrst  trial  of  a  seaman^s 
life,  the  scene  presented  to  our  view, 
"  mid  the  howling  storm,"  was  one  of 
terrific  grandeur,  as  well  as  of  real  dan- 


13 

ger.  But  as  the  ship  scudded  well,  and 
the  wind  was  fair,  she  was  kept  before 
it,  under  a  close  reeled  main-top-sail  and 
fore-sail,  although  during  the  gale,  which 
lasted  forty-eight  hours,  the  sea  fre 
quently  threatened  to  board  us,  which 
was  prevented  by  the  skillful  manage 
ment  of  the  helm.  On  the  9th  of  Janu 
ary  we  rtiad'e  the  Cape  Verd  Islands, 
bearing  &.  W.  twenty-five  miles  distant, 
and  on  the  17th,  crossed  the  Equator. 
On  the  29th  of  the  same  month  we  saw 
sperm  whales^  lowered  our  boats,  and 
succeeded  in  taking  one  ;  the  blubber 
of  which,  when  boiled  out,  yielded  us 
seventy-live  barrels  of  oil.  Pursuing1 
our  voyage,  on  the  twenty  third  of  Feb 
ruary  we  passed  the  Falkland  Islands, 
and  about  the  5th  of  March,  doubled 
the  great  promontory  ol  South  Ameri 
ca,  Cape  Horn,  and  stood  to  the  North 
ward. 

We  saw  whales  once  only  before  we 
reached  the  Sandwich  Islands,  which  we 
made  on  the  first  of  May- early  in  the 
morning.  When  drawing  in  with  the 


14 

Island  of  Hawaii  about  four  in  the  after 
noon,  the  man  at  the  mast  head  gave  no 
tice  that  he  saw  a  shoal  of  black  fish  on 
the  lee  bow  ;  which  we  soon  found  to 
be  canoes  on  their  way  to  meet  us.     It 
falling  calm  at  this  time  prevented  their 
getting  along  side  until  night  fall,  which 
they  did,  at  a  distance  of  more  than 
three  leagues  from  the  land.     We  re 
ceived  from  them  a  very  welcome  sup 
ply  of  potatoes,  sugar  cane,  yams,  co- 
coanuts,   bananas,  fish,   &c.  for  which 
we  gave  them  in  return,  pieces  of  iron 
hoop,  nails,  and  similar  articles*      We 
stood  off  and  on  during  the  next  day, 
and  after  obtaining  a  sufficient  supply 
of  vegetables  and  fruit,  we  shaped  our 
course  for  Oahu,  at  which^place  we  ar 
rived  on  the  following  day,  and  after  ly 
ing  there  twenty  hours,  sailed  for  the 
coast  of  Japan,  in  company  with  the 
whaling  ships  Palladium  of  Boston,  and 
Pocahontas  of  Falmo,uth ;  from  which 
ships    we  parted  company  when  two 
days  out. — After  cruising  in  the  Japan 
seas  several  months,  and  obtaining  fire 


15 

hundred  and  fifty  barrels  of  oil,  we  again 
shaped  our  course  for  the  Sandwich  Isl 
ands,  to  obtain  a  supply  of  vegetables, 
&c. 

While  lying  at  Oahu,  six  of  the  men 
deserted  in  the  night ;  two  of  them  hav 
ing  been  re  taken  were  put  in  irons, 
but  one  of  them  having  found  means  to 
divest  himself  of  his  irons,  set  the  ether 
at  liberty,  and  both  escaped. 

To  supply  their  places,  we  shipped 
the  following  persons,  viz  :  Silas  Payne, 
John  Oliver,  Anthony  Hanson,  a  native 
of  Oahu,  Wm.  Humphries,  a  black  man, 
and  steward,  and  Thomas  Liliston.— 
Having  accommodated  ourselves  with 
as  many  vegetables  and  much  fruit  as 
could  be  preserved,  we  again  put  to 
sea,  fondly  anticipating  a  successful 
cruise,  and  a  speedy  and  happy  meet 
ing  with  our  friends.  After  leaving  Oa 
hu  we  ran  to  the  south  of  the  Equator, 
and  after  cruising  a  short  time  for  whales 
without  much  success,  we  steered  for 
Fannings  Island,  which  lies  in  lat.3,  49 
N.  and  long.  158,  29  W,  While  ends- 


16 

ing  off  this  Island  an  event  occurred 
which,  whether  we  consider  the  want 
of  motives,  or  the  cold  blooded  and  ob 
stinate  cruelty  with  which  it  was  perpe 
trated,  has  not  often  been  equalled. — 
We  speak  of  the  want  of  motives,  be 
cause,  although  some  occurrences  which 
we  shall  mention,  had  given  the  crew 
some  ground  for  dissatisfaction,  there 
had  been  no  abuse  or  severity-  which 
could  in  the  least  degree  excuse  or  pal 
liate  so  barbarous  a  mode  of  redress  and 
revenge.     During  our  cruise  to  Japan 
the   season   before,   many   complaints 
were  uttered  by  the  crew  among  them 
selves,  with  respect  to  the  manner  and 
quantity  in  which  they  received  their 
meat,   the    quantity   sometimes    being 
more  than  sufficient  for  the  number  of 
men,  and  at  others  not  enough  to  supply 
the   ship's  company  ;  and  it  is  fair  to 
presume,  that  the  most  dissatisfied,  de 
serted  the  ship  at  Oahu. 

But  the  reader  will  no  doubt  consid 
er  it  superfluous  for  us  to  attempt  an 
unreqiiired  vindication  of  the  conduct 


17 

of  the  officers  of  the  Globe  whose  aim 
was  to  maintain  a  correct  discipline, 
which  should  result  in  the  furtherance 
of  the  voyage  and  be  a  benefit  to  all 
concerned,  more  especially  when  he  is 
informed,  that  part  of  the  men  shipped 
at  Oahu,  in  the  room  of  the  deserters, 
were  abandoned  wretches,  who  fre 
quently  were  the  cause  of  severe  repri 
mands  from  the  officers,  and  in  one  in 
stance  one  of  them  received  a  severe 
flogging.  The  reader  will  also  please 
to  bear  in  mind,  that  Samuel  B.  Corn- 
stock,  the  ringleader  of  the  mutiny,  was 
an  officer,  (being  aboat-steerer,)andas 
is  customary,  ate  in  the  cabin.  The 
conduct  and  deportment  of  the  Captain 
towards  this  individual,  was  always  dec 
orous  and  gentlemanly,  a  proof  of  inten 
tions  long  premeditated  to  destroy  the 
ship.  Some  of  the  crew  were  deter 
mined  to  leave  the  ship  provided  she 
touched  at  Fannings  Island,  and  .we  be 
lieve  had  concerted  a  plan  of  escape, 
but  of  which  the  perpetration  of  a  deed 
chilling  to  humanity,  precluded  the  na- 


18 

cessity.  We  were  at  this  time  in  com 
pany  with  the  ship  Lyra,  of  New-Bed 
ford,  the  Captain  of  which,  had  been  on 
board  the  Globe  during  the  most  of  the 
day,  but  had  returned  in  the  evening  to 
his  own  ship.  An  agreement  had  been 
made  by  him  with  the  Captain  of  the 
Globe,  to  set  a  light  at  midnight  as  a 
signal  for  tacking.  It  may  not  be  amiss 
to  acquaint  the  reader  of  the  manner  in 
which  whalemen  keep  watch  during  the 
night.  They  generally  carry  three 
boats,  though  some  carry  four,  five,  and 
sometimes  six,  the  Globe,  however,  be* 
ing  of  the  class  carrying  three.  The 
Captain,  mate,  and  second  mate  stand 
no  watch  except  there  is  blubber  to  be 
boiled ;  the  boat-steerers  taking  charge 
of  the  watch  and  managing  the  ship  with 
their  respective  boats  crews,  and  in  this 
instance  dividing  the  night  into  three 
parts,  each  taking  a  third.  It  so  hap 
pened  that  Smith  after  keeping  the  first 
watch,  was  relieved  by  Comstock, 
'  (whom  we  shall  call  by  his  sir  name  in 
contradistinction  to  his  brother  George) 


10 

and  the  waist  boat's  crew,  and  the  for 
mer  watch  retired  below  to  their  births 
and  hammocks.  George  Comstocktook 
the  helm,  and  during  his  trick,  received 
orders  from  his  brother  to  "  keep  the 
ship  a  good  full,"  swearing  that  the 
ship  was  too  nigh  the  wind.  When  his 
time  at  the  helm  had  expired  he  took 
therattle,  (an  instrument  used  by  whale 
men,  to  announce  the  expiration  of  the 
hour,  the  watch,  &c.)  and  began  to  shake 
it,  when  Comstock  came  to  him,  and  in 
the  most  peremptory  manner,  ordered 
him  to  desist,  saying  "if  you  make  the 
least  damn  bit  of  noise  I'll  send  you  to 
hell !"  He  then  lighted  a  lamp  and 
went  into  the  steerage.  George  be 
coming  alarmed  at  this  conduct  of  his 
unnatural  brother,  again  took  the  rattle 
for  the  purpose  of  alarming  some  one ; 
Comstock  arrived  in  time  to  prevent 
him,  and  with  threatenings  dark  and  di 
abolical,  so  congealed  the  blood  of  his 
trembling  brother,  that  even  had  he  pos 
sessed  the  power  of  alarming  the  un- 
eonscious  and  fated  victims  below,  his 


20 

life  would  have  been  the  forfeit  of  his 
temerity ! 

Comstock,  now  laid  something  heavy 
upon  a  small  work  bench  near  the  cabin 
gangway,  which  was  afterwards  found 
to  be  a  boarding  knife.  It  is  an  instru 
ment  used  by  whalers  to  cut  the  blubber 
when  hoisting  it  in,  is  about  four  feet  in 
length,  two  or  three  inches  wide,  and 
necessarily  kept  very  sharp,  and  for 
greater  convenience  when  in  use,  is  two 
edged. 

In  giving  a  detail  of  this  chilling  trans 
action,  we  shall  be  guided  by  the  de 
scription  given  of  it  by  the  younger 
Coinstock,  who,  as  has  been  observed, 
was  upon  deck  at  the  time,  and  after 
wards  learned  several  particulars  from 
his  brother,  to  whom  alone  they  could 
have  been  known.  Comstock  went 
down  into  the  cabin,  accompanied  by 
Silas  Payne  or  Paine,  of  Sag-Harbour, 
John  Oliver,  of  shields,  Eng.  William 
Humphries,  (the  steward)  of  Philadel 
phia,  and  Thomas  Linniston  ;  the  latter, 
however,  went  no  farther  than  the  cab- 


21 

in  gangway,  and  then  ran  forward  and 

turned  in.  According  to  his  own  story 
he  did  not  think  they  would  attempt  to 
put  their  designs  in  execution,  until  he 
saw  them  actually  descending  into  the 
cabin,  having  gone  so  far,  to  use  his  own 
expression,  to  show  himself  as  brave  as 
any  of  them.  But  we  believe  he  had 
not  ihe  smallest  idea  of  assisting  the 
villains.  Corn  stock  entered  the  cabin 
so  silently  as  not  to  be  perceived  by  the 
man  at  the  heim,  who  was  first  apprised 
of  his  having  begun  the  work  of  death, 
by  the  sound  of  a  heavy  blow  with  an 
axe,  whieh  he  distinctly  heard. 

The  Captain  was  asleep  in  a  ham 
mock,  suspended  in  the  cabin,  his  state 
room  being  uncomfortably  warm ;  Corn- 
stock  approaching  him  with  the  axe, 
struck  him  a  blow  upon  the  head,  which 
was  nearly  severed  in  two  by  the  first 
stroke  !  After  repeating  the  blow,  he 
ran  to  Payne,  who  it  seems  was  station 
ed  with  the  before  mentioned  boarding 
knife,  to  attack  the  mate,  as  soon  as 
the  Captain  was  killed.  At  this  instant, 


Payne  making  a  thrust  at  the  mate ,  he 
awoke,  and  terrified,  exclaimed,  "  what ! 

what !  what !"  "Is  this Oh!  Payne  ! 

Oh!  Comstoekr  'Don't  kill  me,  don't;" 
"  have  I  not  always "  Here  Corn- 
stock  interrupted  him,  saying,  "  Yes  ! 
you  have  always  been  a  d — d  rascal  ; 
you  tell  lies  of  me  out  of  the  ship  will 
you?  It's  a  d — d  good  time  to  beg 
now,  but  you're  too  late/'  here  the  mate 
sprang,  and  grasped  him  by  the  throat. 
In  the  scuffle,  the  light  which  Comstock 
held  in  his  hand  was  knocked  out,  and 
the  axe  fell  from  his  hand ;  but  the  grrasp 
of  Mr.  Beetle  upon  his  throat,  did  not 
prevent  him  from  making  Payne  under 
stand  that  his  weapon  was  lost,  who  felt 
about  until  he  f  mnd  it,  and  having  giv 
en  it  to  Comstock,  he  managed  to  strike 
him  a  blow  upon  the  head,  which  frac 
tured  his  skull ;  when  he  fell  into  the 
pantry  where  he  lay  groaning  until  de 
spatched  by  Comstock  !  The  steward 
held  a  light  at  this  time,  while  Oliver 
put  in  a  blow  as  often  as  possible  ! 
The  second  and  third  mates,  fastened 


in  their  state  rooms,  lay  in  their  births 
listening,  fearing  to  speak,  and  being 
ignorant  of  the  numerical  strength  of 
the  mutineers,  and  unarmed,  thought  it 
best  to  wait  the  dreadful  issue,  hoping 
that  their  lives  might  yet  be  spared. 

Comstock  leaving  a  watch  at  the  sec 
ond  mate's  door,  went  upon  deck  to 
light  another  lamp  at  the  binnacle,  it 
having  heen  again  accidentally  extin 
guished.  He  was  there  asked  by  his 
terrified  brother,  whose  agony  of  mind 
we  will  not  attempt  to  portray,  if  he 

ntended  to  hurt  Smith,  the  other  boat- 
steerer.  He  replied  that  he  did  ;  and 
inquired  where  he  was,  George  fear 
ing  that  Smith  would  be  immediately 
pursued,  said  he  had  not  seen  him.— » 
Comstock  then  perceiving  his  brother 
to  be  shedding  tears,  asked  sternly, 
u  What  are  you  crying  about  1"  I  am 
afraid,"  replied  George,  "that  they  will 
hurt  me  !"  "  I  will  hurt  you"  said  hey 
if  you  talk  in  that  manner  P' 

But  the  work  ofcfeathwas  not  yet 

finished.    Comstock,  took  his  light  into 


24 

the  cabin,  and  made  preparations  for  at* 
tacking  the  second  and  third  mates,  Mr. 
Fisher,  and  Mr.  Lumbert.  After  load 
ing  two  muskets,  he  fired  one  through 
the  door,  in  the  direction  as  near  as  he 
could  judge  of  the  officers,  and  then  in 
quired1  if  either  was  shot!  Fisher  re 
plied,  "  yes,  I  am  shot  in  the  mouth  ! 
Previous  to  his  shooting  Fisher,  Lum 
bert  asked  if  he  was  going  to  kill  him  ? 
To -which  he  answered  with  apparent 
unconcern,  "  Oh  no,  I  guess  not." 

They  now  opened  the  door,  and  Corn- 
stock  making  a  pass  at  Mr.  Lumbert, 
missed  him,  and  'fell  into  the  state 
room.  Mr.  Lumbert  collared  him,  but 
he  escaped  from  his  hands,  Mr.  Fish 
er  had  got  the  gun,  and  actually  present 
ed  the  bayonet  to  the  monster's  heart  ! 
TBut  Comstock  assuring  him  that  his  life 
should  be  spared  if  he  gave  it  up,  he 
did  so  ;  when  Comstock  immediately  ran 
Mr,  Lumbert  through  the  body  several 
times  !  ! 

He  then  turned  to  Mr.  Fisher,  and 
told  him  there  was  no  hope  for  him ! ! — 


25 

"  You  have  got  to  die,"  said  he,  "fe- 
mernber  the  scrape  you  got  me  into, 
when  in  company  with  the  Enterprise  of 
Nantucket."  The  "  scrape^  alluded 
to,  was  as  follows.  Comstock  came  up 
to  Mr.  Fisher  to  wrestle  with  him. — 
Fisher  being  the  most  athletick  of  the 
two,  handled  him  with  so  much  ease, 
that  Comstock  in  a  fit  of  passion  struck 
him.  At  this  Fisher  seized  him,  and 
laid  him  upon  deck  several  times  in  a 
pretty  rough  manner. 

Comstock  then  made  some  violent 
threats,  which  Fisher  paid  no  attention 
to,  but  which  now  fell  upon  his  soul 
with  all  the  horrors  of  reality.  Finding 
his  cruel  enemy  deaf  to  his  remonstran 
ces,  and  entreaties,  he  said,  "  If  there 
is  no  hope,  [  will  at  least  die  like  a  man  f'f 
arid  having  by  order  of  Comstock,  turn 
ed  back  too*  said  in  a  firm  voice,  "  lam 
ready  !  /» 

Comstock  then  put  the  muzzle  of  the 
gun  to  his  head,  and  fired,  which  in 
stantly  put  an  end  to  his  existence  ! — 
Mr.  Lumbert,  during  this  time,  was  beg- 


26 

ging  for  life,  although  no  doubt  mortal 
ly  wounded.  Comstock,  turned  to  him 
and  said,  "  I  am  a  bloody  man  !  I  have 
a  bloody  hand  and  will  be  avenged  P' 
and  again  run  him  through  the  body 
with  a  bayonet  !  He  then  begged  fofr 
a  little  water  ;  "  I'll  give  you  water," 
said  he,  and  once  more  plunging  the 
weapon  in  his  body,  left  him  for  dead  ! 

Thus  it  appears  that  this  more  than 
demon,  murdered  with  his  own  hand? 
the  whole  !  Gladly  would  we  wash 
from  "  memory's  waste"  all  remem 
brance  of  that  bloody  night.  The  com 
passionate  reader,  however,  whose 
heart  sickens  within  him,  at  the  peru 
sal,  as  does  ours  at  the  recital,  of  this 
tale  of  woe,  will  not,  we  hope,  disap 
prove  our  publishing  these  melancholy 
facts  to  the  world.  As,  through  the 
boundless  mercy  of  Providence,  we 
have  been  restored,  to  the  bosom  of  our 
families  and  homes,  we  deemed  it  a  du 
ty  we  owe  to  the  world,  to  record  our 
"  unvarnished  tale." 


CH AFTER  II. 

SMITH,  the  other  boat-steerer  ,  who 
had  been  marked  as  one  of  the  victims, 
on  hearing  the  noise  in  the  cabin,  went 
aft,  apprehending  an  altercation  between 
the  Captain  and  some  of  the  other  offi 
cers,  little  dreaming  that  innocent  blood 
was  flowing  in  torrents.  But  what  was 
his  astonishment,  when  he  beheld  Coin- 
stock,  brandishing  the  boarding  knife, 
and  heard  him  exclaim,  "lam  the  bloody 
man,  and  will  have  revenge  !"  Horror 
struck^  he  hurried  forward,  and  asked 
the  crew  in  the  forecastle,  what  he 
should  do.  Some  urged  him  to  secrete 
himself  in  the  hold,  others  to  go  aloft 
until  Cornstocksrage  should  be  abated; 
but  alas  !  the  reflection  that  the  ship  af 
forded  no  secure  hiding  place,  deter 
mined  him  to  confront  the  ringleader, 
and  if  he  could  not  save  his  life  by  fair 
means,  to  sell  it  dearly  !  He  was  soon 


28 

called  for  by  Comstock,  who  upon  meet 
ing  him,  threw  his  bloody  arms  around 
his  neck,  and  embracing  him,  said,  "  you 
are  going  to  be  with  us,  are  you  not?" 
The  reader  will  discover  the  good  poli 
cy  of  Smith  when  he  unhesitatingly  an 
swered,  "  Oh,  yes,  I  will  do  any  thing 
you  require." 

All  hands  were  now  called  to  make 
sail,  and  a  light  at  the  same  time  was 
set  as  a  signal  for  the  Lyra  to  tack  ;— 
while  the  Globe  was  kept  upon  the 
same  tack,  which  very  soon  caused  a 
separation  of  the  two  ships.  All  the 
reefs  were  turned  oat,  top-gailant-sails 
set,  and  all  sail  made  on  the  ship,  the 
wind  being  quite  light. 

The  mutineers  then  threw  the  body 
of  the  Captain*  overboard,  dter  wanton 
ly  piercing  his  bowel-  ivit!t  a  boarding 
knife,  which  vfai  Driven  iciili  an  axe, 
untl  ;  j^it  protruded  from  his 

throat !  !     In  Mr.  Beetle,  the  mate,  the 
amp  of  life  had  not  entirely  gone  out, 
but  he  was  committed  to  the  deep. 
Orders  were  next  given  to  have  the 


29 

bodies  of  Mr.  Fisher,  and  Mr.  Lumbert 
brought  up.  A  rope  was  fastened  to 
Fisher's  neck,  by  which  he  was  hauled 
upon  deck.  A  rope  was  made  fast  to 
Mr.  Lumbert's  feet,  and  in  this  way  was 
he  got  upon  deck,  but  when  in  the  act 
of  being  thrown  from  the  ship,  he  caught 
the  plank-shear ;  and  appealed  to  Corn- 
stock,  reminding  him  of  his  promise  to 
save  him^  but  in  vain  ;  for  the  monster 
forced  him  from  his  hold,  and  he  fell  in 
to  the  sea  !  As  he  appeared  to  be  yet 
capable  of  swimming,  a  boat  was  order 
ed  to  be  lowered,  to  pursue  and  finish 
him,  fearing  he  might  be  picked  up  by 
the  Lyra  ;  which  order  was  as  soon 
countermanded  as  given,  fearing,  no 
doubt,  a  desertion  of  his  murderous 
companions. 

We  will  now  present  the  reader,  witk 
a  journal  of  our  passage  to  the  Mulgrave 
Islands,  for  which  groupe  we  shaped 
our  course. 

1824,  Jan.  26th.     At  2  A.   M.  from 
being  nearly  calm  a  light  breeze  sprung- 
up,  which  increased  to  a  fresh  breeze 
4 


30 

by  4  A.  M.  This  day  cleaned  out  the 
cabin,  which  was  a  scene  of  blood  and 
destruction  of  which  the  recollection  at 
this  day  chills  the  blood  in  our  veins. — 
Every  thing  bearing  marks  of  the  mur 
der,  was  brought  on  deck  and  washed. 
Lat.  5°  50'  N.  Long.  159°  13'  W. 

Jan.  27th.  These  twenty-four  hours 
commenced  with  moderate  breezes  from 
the  eastward.  Middle  and  latter  part 
calm.  Employed  in  cleaning  the  small 
arms  which  were  fifteen  in  number,  and 
making  cartridge  boxes. 

Lat.  3°  45'  N.  Long.  160n  45'  W, 

Jan,  28.  This  day  experienced  fine 
weather,  and  light  breezes  from  N.  by 
W,  The  black  steward  was  hung  for 
the  following  crime. 

George  Comstock  who  was  appoint 
ed  steward  after  the  mutiny,  and  busi 
ness  calling  him  into  the  cabin,  he  saw 
the  former  steward,  now  called  the  pur 
ser,  engaged  in  loading  a  pistol;  He 
asked  him  what  he  was  doing  that  for. 
His  reply  was,  "  I  have  heard  something 
very  strange,  and  I'm  going  to  be  ready 


31 

tor  it."  This  information  was  immedi 
ately  carried  to  Comstock,  who  called 
to  Payne,  now  mate,  and  bid  him  follow 
him. 

On  entering  the  cabin  they  saw  Hum 
phreys,  still  standing  with  the  pistol  in 
his  hand.  On  being  demanded  what 
he  was  going  to  do  with  it,  he  said  he 
had  heard  something  which  made  him 
afraid  of  his  life  ! 

Comstock  told  him  if  he  had  heard 
any  thing,  that  he  ought  to  have  come 
to  him,  and  let   him  know,    before  he 
began  loading  pistols.      He  then  de 
manded  to  know,  what  he  had  heard. 
Humphreys  answered  at  first  in  a  very 
suspicious  and  ambiguous  manner,  but 
at  length  said,  that  Gilbert  Smith,  the 
boat-steerer  who  was  saved,  and  Peter 
Kidder,  were  going  to  re-take  the  ship. 
This  appeared  highly  improbable,  but 
they  were  summoned  to  attend  a  coun 
cil  at  which    Comstock  presided,  and 
asked  if  they  had  entertained  any  such 
intentions.    They  positively  denied  ev 
er  having  had  conversation  upon  the 


32 

subject.     All  this  took  place  in  the  eve 
ning.     The  next  morning   die  parties 
were  summoned,  and  a  jury  of  two  men 
called.     Humphreys  under  a  guard   of 
six  men,  armed  with  muskets,  was  ar 
raigned,  and  Smith  and  Kidder,  seated 
upon  a  chest  near  him,     The  prisoner 
was  asked  a  few  questions  touching  his 
intentions,  which  he  answered  but  low 
and  indistinctly.     The  trial,   if  it    may 
be  so  called,  had  progressed  thus   far, 
when  Comstock  made  a  speech  in  the 
following  words.  "  It  appears  that  Wil 
liam  Humphreys  has  been  accused  guilty, 
of  a  treacherous  and  base  act,  in  loading 
a  pistol  for  the  purpose  of  shooting  Mr. 
Payne  and  myself.     Having  been  tried 
the  jury  will  now  give  in  their  verdict, 
whether  Guilty  or  Not  Guilty.     If  guil 
ty  he  shall  be  hanged  to  a  studding-sail 
boom,  rigged  out  eight  feet  upon  the 
fore-yard,  but  if  found  not  guilty,  Smith 
and  Kidder,  shall  be  hung  upon  the 
aforementionedgallows  !"  But  the  doom 
of  Humphreys  had  been    sealed  the 
night  before,  and  kept  secret  except  from 


33 

the  jury,  who  returned  a  verdict  of  Guil 
ty, — Preparations  were  immediately 
made  for  his  execution  !  His  watch  was 
taken  from  him,  and  he  was  then  taken 
forward  and  seated  upon  the  rail,  with 
a  cap  drawn  over  his  face,  and  the  rope 
placed  round  his  neck. 

Every  man  was  ordered  to  take  hold 
of  the  execution  rope,  to  be  ready  to 
run  him  up  when  Comstock  should  give 
the  signal,  by  ringing  the  ship's  bell  ! 

He  was  now  asked  if  he  had  any  thing 
to  say,  as  he  had  but  fourteen  seconds 
to  live  !  He  began  by  saying,  "  little 
did  I  think  I  was  born  to  come  to  this 

r  ;"  the   bell  struck  !    and  he 

was  immediately  swung  to  the  yard -arm  I. 
He  died  without  a  struggle  ;  and  after 
he  had  hung  a  few  niuiiites,   the   r^oe 
was  cut,  to  let  him  fall  overboard,  Dut 
getting  entangled  aloft,  the  body  was 
towed  some  distance  along  side,  wh^n 
a  runner  k<>ok,*  was  attaca  ad  to  it,  to 
sink  it,  when  the  rope  was  again  cat  and 
br> •[ y  disappeared.^  His  chest  was 

*  A  iar^e  hook  used  when  hoiking  in  die  blubber. 


34 

now  overhauled,  and  sixteen  dollars  in 
specie  found,  which  he  had  taken  from 
the  Captain's  trunk.  Thus  ended  the 
life  of  one  of  the  mutineers,  while  the 
blood  of  innocent  victims  was  scarcely 
washed  from  his  hands,  much  less  the 
guiity  stain  from  his  soul. 

Feb.  7th.     These  twenty -four  hours 
commenced  with  thick  squally  weather. 
Middle  part  clear  and   line  weather. — 
Hove  to  at  %   A.  M.,    and   at  6  made 
sail,  and  steered  W.  by  S.    At  \  past  8 
made  an  Island  ahead,  one  of  the  Kings- 
mill  groupe.     Stood  in   with  the  land 
and  received  a  number  of  canoes  along 
side,  the  natives  in  them  however  hav 
ing  nothing  to  sell  us  but  a   few  beads 
of  th^ir   own  manufacture.     We    saw 
some  cocoanut,  and  other  trees  upon 
the  shore,  and  discovered  many  of  the 
natives  upon  the  beach,  and  some  dogs.' 
The  principal  food  of  these  Islanders  is, 
a  kind  of  bread  fruit,  which  they  pound 
very  fine  and  mix  it  with  fish. 

Feb.   8.    "Commences  squally  with 
fresh  breezes  from  the  northward.— 


85 

T  ook~a  departure  from  Kingsmill  Isl 
and  ;  one  of  the  groupe  of  that  name  9 
in  Lat.  1°27'  N.  and  Long.  175°  147  E. 
In  the  morning  passed  through  the 
channel  between  Marshall's  and  Gil 
bert's  Islands  ;  luffed  to  and  despatch 
ed  a  boat  to  Marshall's  Island,  but  did 
not  land,  as  the  natives  appeared  hos 
tile,  and  those  who  swam  off  to  the  boat, 
endeavoured  to  steal  from  her.  When 
about  to  leave,  a  volley  of  musketry  was 
discharged  at  them,  which  probably 
killed  or  wounded  some  of  them.  The 
boat  then  gave  chase  to  a  canoe,  pad 
dled  by  two  of  the  natives,  which  were 
fired  upon  when  within  gunshot,  when 
they  immediately  ceased  paddling;  and 
on  the  boat  approaching  them,  discov 
ered  that  one  of  the  natives  was  wound 
ed.  In  the  most  supplicating  manner 
they  held  up  a  jacket,  manufactured 
from  a  kind  of  flag,  and  some  beads5  be 
ing  all  they  possessed,  giving  their  in 
human  pursuers  to  understand,  that  all 
should  be  theirs  if  they  would  spare 
their  lives  !  The  wounded  native  laid 


36 

down  in  the  bottom  of  the    boat,  and 
from  his  convulsed  frame  and  trembling 
lip,  BO  doubt  remained  but  that  the  wound 
was  mortal.    The  boat  then  returned  on 
board  and  we  made  sail  for  the  Mulgrave 
Islands.     Here  was  another  sacrifice  ; 
an  innocent  child  of  nature  shot  down, 
merely  to  gratify  the  most  wanton  and 
unprovoked  cruelty,  which  could  possi 
bly  possess  the  heart  of  man.     The  un 
polished  savage,  a  stranger  to  the  more 
tender  sympathies  of  the  human  heart,, 
which  are  cultivated  and  enjoyed  by 
civilized  nations,  nurtures  in  his  bosom 
a  flame  of  revenge,  which  only  the  blood 
of  those   who    have    injured  him,  can 
dauip ;  and  when  years  have  rolled  a- 
way,  this  act  of  cruelty  will  be  remem 
bered  by  these   Islanders,   and   made 
the-,  pretext  to  slaughter  every  white 
man  who  may  fall  into  their  hands. 

Feb.  Ilth.  Commenced  with  strong 
breezes  from  the  Northward.  At  •§ 
past  meridian  made  the  land  bearing 
E.  N.  E.  four  leagues  distant.  Stood 
in  and  received  a  number  of  canoes  a- 


37 

long  side.     Sent  a  boat  on  shorej  and 
brought  off  a  number  of  women,  a  large 
quantity  of  cocoanuts,  and  some  fish. — 
Stood  offshore  most  of  the  night,  and 
Feb.  12th,   in   the  morning  stood  in 
shore  again  and  landed  the  women. — 
We  then  stood  along  shore  looking  out 
for  an  anchorage,   and  reconnoitering 
the  country,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some 
spot  suitable  for  cultivation  ;  but  in  this 
we  were  tli&appointed,  or  more  prop 
erly  speaking,  they,  the  mutineers  ;  for 
we  had  no  will  of  our   own,  while   our 
bosoms  were  torn  with  the  most  con- 
ilicting  passions,    in  which  Hope  and 
Despair  alternately  gained  the  ascend 
ency. 

Feb.  13th:  After  having  stood  oif  all 
night,  we  in  the  morning  stood  in,  and 
after  coasting  the  shores  of  several  small 
Islands,  we  came  to  one,  low  and  nar 
row,  where  it  was  determined  the  Ship 
should  be  anchored.  When  nearly 
ready  to  let  go,  a  man  was  sent  into  the 
chains  to  sound,  who  pronounced  twelve 
fathoms;  but  at  the  next  cast,  could 


38 

not  get  bottom.  We  continued  to  stand 
in,  until  we  got  regular  sounding,  and 
anchored  within  five  rods  of  the  shore, 
on  a  coral  rock  bottom,  in  seven  fathoms 
water.  The  ship  was  then  moored  with 
a  kedge  astern,  sails  furled,  and  all 
hands  retired  to  rest,  except  an  anchor 
watch. 

Feb.  14th,  was  spent  in  looking  for 
a  landing  place.  In  the  morning  a  boat 
was  sent  to  the  Eastward,  but  returned 
with  the  information  that  no  good  land 
ing  place  could  be  found,  the  shore  be 
ing  very  rocky.  At  2  P.  M,  she  was 
sent  in  an  opposite  direction,  but  re 
turned  at  night  without  having  met  with 
better  success  ;  when  it  was  determin 
ed  to  land  at  the  place  where  we  lay  ; 
notwithstanding  it  was  very  rocky. — 
Nothing  of  consequence  was  done,  un 
til 

Sunday,    15th  Feb.    1824,  when  all 

hands  were  set  to  work  to  construct  a 

raft  out  of  the  spare  spars,  upon  which 

to  convey  the  provisions,  &c.  on  shore. 

The  laws  by  which  we  were  now  gov 


i  39 

erned  had  been  made  by  Comstock,  soon 
after  the  mutiny,  and  read  as  follows  : 
"  That  if  any  one  saw  a  sail  and  did 
not  report  it  immediately,  lie  should  be 
put  to  death  !  If  any  one  refused  to 
fight  a  ship  he  should  be  put  to  death; 
and  the  manner  of  their  death,  this — 
They  shall  be  bound  hand  and  foot  and 
boiled  in  the  try  pots,  of  boiling  oil  !" 
Every  man  was  made  to  seal  and  sign 
this  instrument,  the  seals  of  thy  mutin 
eers  being  black,  and  the  remainder. 
blue  and  white.  The  raft  or  stage  be 
ing  completed,  it  was  anchored,  so  that 
one  end  rested  upon  the  rocks,  the  oth 
er  being  kept  sea-ward  by  the  anchor. 
During  the  first  day  many  articles  were 
brought  from  the  ship  in  boats,  to  the 
raft,  and  from  thence  convej^ed  on 
shore-  Another  raft,  however,  was 
made,  by  laying  spars  upon  two  boats, 
and  boards  again  upon  them,  which  at 
high  water  would  float  well  up  on  the 
shore-  The  following,  as  near  as  can 
be  recollected,  were  the  articles  landed 
from  the  ship  ;  (and  the  intention  was* 


40 

when  all  should  have  been  got  on  shore 
to  haul  the  ship  on  shore,  or  as  near  it 
as  possible  and  buni  her.)     One  main 
sail,  one  foresail,  one  miz en-topsail,  one 
spanker,  one  driver,  one   maintop  gal- 
lantsail,  two   lower  studdingsails,  two 
royals,  two  topmast-studdingsails,    two 
top-gallant-staddingsails,     one    miz  en- 
staysail,  two  mizen-top-gallantsails,  one 
fly-gib,  (thrown  overboard,  being  a  lit 
tle  torn,)  three  boat's  sails  (new,)  three 
or   four  casks  of  bread,    eight  or  ten 
barrels  of  flour,   forty  barrels  of  beef 
and  pork,  three  or  more  60   gal.    casks 
of  molasses,  one  and  a  half  barrels  of 
sugar,  one  barrel  dried  apples,  one  cask 
vinegar,  two  casks  of  rum,    one  or  two 
barrels  domestic  coffee,  one  keg  W.  L 
coffee,  one  and  a  half  chests  of  tea,  one 
barrel  of  pickles,  one  do.    cranberries, 
one   box  chocolate,  one  cask  of  tow- 
lines,  three  or  more  coils    of  cordage, 
one  coil  rattling,   one   do-  lance  warp, 
ten  or  fifteen  balls  spunyarn,  one  do- 
worming,  one   stream  cable,    one  lar 
board  bower  anchor,  all  the  spare  spars,, 


4i 

every  chest  of  clothing,  most  of  the  ship*s 
tools,  &c-  £c.  The  ship  by  this  time 
was  considerably  unrigged- 

On  the  following  day,  Monday  16th 
February,  Payne  the  second  in  the  mu 
tiny,  who  was  on  board  the  ship  attend 
ing  to  the  discharge  of  articles  from 
her,  sent  word  to  Comstock,  who  with 
Gilbert  Smith  and  a  number  of  the  crew 
were  on  shore,  attending  to  the  landing 
of  the  raft  ;  "  That  if  he  did  not  act 
differently  with  regard  to  the  plunder, 
such  as  making  presents  to  the  natives 
of  the  officers'  fine  clothing,  &e.  he 
would  do  no  more,  but  quit  the  ship  and 
come  on  shore,"  Comstock  had  been 
very  liberal  to  the  natives  in  this  way, 
and  his  objec  t  was,  no  doubt,  to  attach 
them  as  much  as  possible  to  his  person, 
as  it  must  have  been  suggested  to  his 
guilty  mind,  that  however  he  himself 
might  have  become  a  misanthrope,  yet 
there  were  those  around  him,  whose 
souls  shuddered  at  the  idea  of  being 
forever  exiled  from  their  country  and 
friends,  whose  hands  were  yet  unstain- 

5 


42 

ed  by  blood,  but  who  might  yet  imbrue 
them,  for  the  purpose  of  escape  from 
lonely  exile,  and  cruel  tyranny. 

When  the  foregoing  message  was  re 
ceived  from  Payne,  Comstock  comman 
ded  his  presence  immediately  on  shore, 
and  interrogated  him,  as  to  what  he 
meant  by  sending  such  a  message.  Af 
ter  considerable  altercation,  which  took 
place  in  the  tent,  Comstock  was  heard 
to  say,  "  [helped  to  take  the  ship,  and 
have  navigated  her  to  this  place. — I  have 
also  done  all  I  could  to  get  the  sails  and 
rigging  on  shore,  and  now  you  may  do 
what  you  please  with  her  ;  but  if  any 
man  wants  any  thing  of  me,  I'll  take  a 
musket  with  him  P 

"That  is  what  T  want,'*  replied  Payne, 
"  and  am  ready  !"  This  was  a  check 
upon  the  murderer,  who  had  now  the 
offer  of  becoming  a  duellist ;  and  he  on 
ly  answered  by  saying,  "  I  will  go  on 
board  once  more,  and  then  you  may  da 
as  you  please." 

He  then  went  on  beard,  and  after  de 
stroying  the  paper  upon  which  were  re- 


43 

corded  the  "  Laws,"  returned,  went  in 
to  the  tent  with  Payne,  arid  putting  a 
sword  into  a  scabbard,  exclaimed,  "this 
shall  stand  by  me  as  long  as  I  live." 

We  ought  not  to  omit  to  mention  that 
duiing  the  time  he  was  on  board  the 
ship,  he  challenged  the  persons  there, 
to  fight  him,  and  as  he  was  leaving,  ex- 
clairned  "I  am  going  to  leave  you;  Look 
out  for  yourselves  /" 

After  obtaining  from  Payne  permis 
sion  to  carry  with  him  a  cutlass,  a  knife, 
and  some  hooks  and  lines,  he  took  his 
depasture,  and  as  was  afterwards  ascer 
tained,  immediately  joined  a  gang  of 
natives,  and  endeavoured  to  excite  them 
to  slay  Payne  and  his  companions  !  At 
dusk  of  this  day  he  passed  the  tent,  ac 
companied  by  about  50  of  the  natives, 
in  a  direction  of  their  village,  upwards 
of  a  league  distant,  Payne  came  on 
board,  and  after  expressing  apprehen 
sions  that  Comstock  would  persuade 
the  natives  to  kill  us  all,  picked  out  a 
number  of  the  crew  to  go  on  shore  for 
the  night,  and  stationed  sentinels  a- 


44 

round  the  tent,  with  orders  to  shoot  a- 
ny  one,  who  should  attempt  to  approach 
without  giring  the  countersign.  The 
night,  however,  passed,  without  any 
one's  appearing  ;  but  early  on  the  mor 
ning  of  the 

17th  Feb. ;  Comstock  was  discovered 
at  some  distance  coming  towards  the 
tent.  It  had  been  before  proposed  to 
Smith  by  Payne,  to  shoot  him  ;  but 
poor  Smith  like  ourselves,  dare  do  no 
other  than  remain  upon  the  side  of  neu 
trality. 

Oliver,  whom  the  reader  will  recol 
lect  as  one  of  the  wretches  concerned 
in  the  mutiny,  hurried  on  shore,  and 
with  Payne  and  others,  made  prepara 
tions  to  put  him  to  death.  After  load 
ing  a  number  of  muskets  they  stationed 
themselves  in  front  of  the  tent,  and  wait 
ed  his  approach — a  bushy  spot  of  ground 
intervening,  he  did  not  make  his  ap 
pearance  until  within  a  short  distance 
of  the  tent,  which,  as  soon  as  he  saw, 
drew  his  sword  and  walked  quick  to 
wards  it,  in  a  menacing  manner  ;  but 


45 

as  soon  as  he  saw  a  number  of  the  mus 
kets  levelled  at  him,  he  waved  his  hand, 
and  cried  out,  "don't  shoot  me,  don't 
shoot  me  !  I  will  not  hurt  you  !"  At 
this  moment  they  fired,  and  he  fell  !  — 
Payne  fearing  he  might  pretend  to  be 
shot,  ran  to  him  with  an  axe,  and  nearly 
severed  his  head  from  his  body  !  There 
were  four  muskets  fired  at  him,  but  on 
ly  two  balls  took  effect,  one  entered  his 
right  breast,  and  passed  out  near  the 
back  bone,  the  other  through  his  head. 

Thus  ended  the  life,  of  perhaps  as 
cruel,  blood-thirsty,  and  vindictive  a  be 
ing  as  ever  bore  the  form  of  humanity. 

All  hands  were  now  called  to  attend 
his  burial,  which  was  conducted  in  the 
same  inconsistent  manner  which  had 
marked  the  proceedings  of  the  actors  in 
this  tragedy.  While  some  were  enga 
ged  in  sewing  the  body*  in  a  piece  of 
canvas,  others  were  employed  in  digging 
a  grave  in  the  saud,  adjacent  to  the 
place  of  his  decease,  which,  by  order  of 
Payne,  was  made  five  feet  deep.  Ev 
ery  article  attached  to  him,  including 


46 

his  cutlass,  was  buried  with  him,  except 
his  watch;  and  the'  ceremonies  consist 
ed  in  reading  a  chapter  from  the  bible 
over  him,  and  firing  a  musktt  ! 

Only  twenty -two  day.*  hari  </hr»sed  af 
ter  the  perpetration  of  the  mas  acre  on 
board  the  ship,  when  with  ait  his  sins 
upon  his  head,  he  was  hurried  into  eter 
nity  ! 

No  duty  was  done  during  the  remain 
der  of  the  day,  except  the  selection  by 
Pavne,  of  six  men,  to  go  on  board  the 
ship  and  take  charge  of  b-r,  under  the 
command  ot  Smith  ;  who  had  communi 
cated  his  intentions  to  a  number  of  run 
ning  away  with  the  ship.  We  think  we 
cannot  do  better  than  to  give  an  ac 
count  of  their  escape  in  the  words  of 
Smith  himself.  It  may  be  well  to  re 
mark,  that  Payne  had  ordered  the  two 
binacle  compass'es  to  be  brought  on 
shore,  they  being  the  only  ones  remain 
ing  on  board,  except  a  hanging  com 
pass  suspended  in  the  cabin.  Secre 
ting  one  of  the  binacle  compasses,  he 
took  the  hanging  compass  on  shore, 


47 

anHthe  exchange  was  not  discovered. 
"  At  7  P,  M.  we  began  to  make  prep 
arations  for  our  escape  with  the  ship.— 
I  went  below  to  prepare  some  weapons 
for  our  defence  should  we  be  attacked 
by  Payne,  while  the  others,  as  silently 
as  possible,  were  employed  in  clearing 
the  running  rigging,  for  every  thing  was 
in  the  utmost  confusion.  Having  found 
one  musket,,  three  bayonets,  and  some 
whale  lances,  they  were  laid  handy,  to 
prevent  the  ship  being  boarded.  A 
handsaw  well  greased  was  laid  upon 
the  windlass  to  saw  off  the  cable,  and  the 
only  remaining  hatchet  on  board,  was 
placed  by  the  mizen  mast,  to  cut  the 
stern  moorings  when  the  ship  should 
hav^  sufficiently  swung  off.  Taking 
one  man  with  me,  we  went  upon  the 
fore-top-sail-yard,  loosed  the  sail  and 
turned  out  the  reefs,  while  two  others 
were  loosing  the  raain-top-sail  and  main 
sail.  I  will  not  insult  the  reader's  good 
sense^  by  assuring  him,  that  this  was  a 
duty,  upon  the  success  of  which  seem 
ed  to  hang  our  very  existence*  By  this 


48 

time  the  moon  was  rising,  which  ren 
dered  it  dangerous  to  delay,  for  those 
who  had  formed  a  resolution  to  swim 
on  board,  and  accompany  us.  The 
bunts  of  the  sails  being  yet  confined  a- 
loft,  by  their  respective  gaskets,  I  sent 
a  man  on  the  fore-yard  and  another  up 
on  the  fore-top-sail-yard,  with  orders  to 
let  fall,  when  I  should  givre  the  word  ; 
one  man  being  at  the  helm,  and  two 
others  at  the  fore  tack. 

It  was  now  half  past  nine  o'clock, 
when  I  took  the  handsaw,  and  in  less 
than  two  minutes  the  cable  was  off  !  — 
The  ship  payed  off  very  quick,  and  when 
her  head  was  off  the  land,  there  being 
a  breeze  from  that  quarter,  the  hawser 
was  cut  and  all  the  sail  we  could  make 
upon  the  ship  immediately  set,  a  fine 
fair  wind  blowing.  A  raft  of  iron  hoops, 
which  was  towing  along  side,  was  cut 
adrift,  and  we  congratulated  each  other 
upon  our  fortunate  escape ;  for  even 
with  a  vast  extent  of  ocean  to  traverse, 
hope  excited  in  our  bosoms  a  belief  that 
we  should  again  embrace  our  friends, 


49 

and  our  joy  was  heightened  by  the  re 
flection,  that  we  might  be  the  means  of 
rescuing  the  innocents  left  behind,  and 
having  the  guilty  punished." 

After  a  long  and  boisterous  passage 
the  ship  arrived  at  Valparaiso,  when 
she  was  taken  possession  of  by  the  A- 
merican  Consul,  Michael  Hogan,  Esq. 
and  the  persons  on  board  were  put  in 
irons  on  board  a  French  frigate,  there 
being  no  American  man-of-war  in  port. 
There  names  were,  Gilbert  Smith, 
George  Comstock,  Stephen  Kidder, 
Joseph  Thomas,  Peter  C.  Kidder,  and 
Anthony  Henson. 

Subsequently  they  were  all  examined 
before  the  U.  S.  Consul  ;  and  with  the 
following,  an  examination  of  Gilbert 
Smith,  we  shall  commence  another 
chapter.  * 


CHAPTER  III. 

U.  S.  Consulate, 

Valparaiso,  15th  June,  1824. 

Gilbert  Smith  examined  on  oathg 
touching  the  mutiny  and  murder  on  board 
the  whale  ship  Globe,  of  Nantucket, 
Massachusetts,  in  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Question.  Who  were  the  Captain 
and  mates  of  the  ship  Globe  ? 

Jlns.  Thomas  Worth,  Captain;  Wil 
liam  Beetle,  first  mate  ;  John  Lumbert, 
second  mate  ;  Nathaniel  Fisher,  third 
mate. 

Q.     Where  was  you  born  ? 

»#.  In  the  town  of  Edgarton,  State 
of  Massachusetts. 

Q.  Did  you  sail  from  thence  in  the 
ship  Globe  of  Naiitucket,  20th  Dec. 
1822,  and  in  what  capacity  ? 

JL.     Yes  ;  as  a  boat-steerer. 

Q.  Was  there  any  thing  like  muti 
ny  on  board  the  ship  during  her  passage 


51 
to  the  Sandwich  Islands  ? 

^.     No. 

Q.     How  man}  men  belonged  to  the 
ship  on  sailing  from  Nantucket  ? 

J/.     Twenty-one  in  all. 

Q.  Did  any  run  away  at  the  Sand 
wich  Islands  ? 

•d.  Six  men  ran  away,  and  one  was 
discharged. 

Q.  How  many  men  were  shipped 
in  their  places  ? 

d.  John  Oliver,  of  Shields,  Eng 
land  ;  Silas  Payne,  of  Rhode  Island  ; 
Thomas  Lilliston,  of  Virginia  ;  William 
Steward,  of  Philadelphia,  (black  ;)  An- 
thoriy  Henson,  of  Barnstable  ;  and  a  na 
tive  of  the  Sandwich  Islands. 

Q.  On  what  day  or  night  did  this 
murderous  mutiny  take  place  ? 

A*  On  Sunday  night  the  26th  of 
January,  this  year ;  in  the  morning  of 
that  day  there  was  a  great  disturbance  > 
in  consequence  of  Joseph  Thomas  hav" 
ing  insulted  the  Captain,  for  which  he 
was  whipped  by  the  Captain,  with  the 
end  of  the  main  buntline.  The  part  of 


52 

the  crew  not  stationed  stood  in  the  hatch 
way  during  the  punishment. 

Q.  Did  any  thing  happen  in  conse 
quence,  during  that  day  ? 

Jl.  No  :  I  lived  aft ;  I  heard  noth 
ing  about  it ;  Capt,  Joy  of  the  Lyra, 
was  on  board  nearly  all  day. 

Q,  How  were  you  stationed  during 
the  night  ? 

t/I.  The  Captain,  first  and  second 
mates,  kept  no  watch  during  that  night ; 
the  rest  of  the  crew  were  stationed  in 
three  watches,  in  charge  of  the  third 
mate  and  boat-steerers. 

Q.  Who  had  charge  of  die  first  watch 
during  that  night  ? 

•£•  I  had  charge  of  the  watch  from 
7  to  10  o'clock.  At  8  the  Captain  came 
on  deck,  and  had  two  reefs  taken  in  the 
topsails,  and  at  9  went  down,  leaving 
me  the  orders  for  the  night,  to  keep 
the  ship  by  the  wind^  until  two  o'clock, 
and  not  to  tack  until  the  other  watch 
came  up  ;  and  on  tacking,  a  light  to  be 
set  for  the  Lyra  who  was  in  company* 
to  tack  also. 


53 

At  10  o'clock  I  went  below,  being 
relieved  by  the  boat-steerer  Comstock, 
to  whom  I  passed  the  orders  given  me 
by  the  Captain, (Here  follows  a  de 
tailed  account  of  the  mutiny,  with  which 
the  reader  has  already  been  made  ac 
quainted.) 

Q*  Do  you  believe  that  Joseph 
Thomas  had  any  knowledge  of  Corn- 
stock's  intent  to  commit  murder  that 
night  ? 

A.  I  think  he  must  have  known 
something  about  it,  according  to  his  talk. 

Q.  Do  you  believe  that  any  other 
person  in  the  ship,  besides  those  per 
sons  who  committed  the  murder,  knew 
of  the  intention? 

«#.  Thomas  Lilliston  knew  about  it, 
because  he  went  to  the  cabin  door  with 
an  axe,  and  a  boat  knife  in  his  hand,  in 
company  with  the  murderers,  but  he 
did  not  go  below. 

Q.  Did  you  live  with  them  aft,  after 
wards  ? 

JL     No  :  I  lived  in  the  forecastle,  but 
all  on  board  eat  in  the  cabin. 
6 


54 

Q.  Name  all  the  persons  you  left  on 
the  Island,  where  you  cut  the  cable  of 
the  ship  and  escaped. 

•#.  Silas  Payne,  John  Oliver,  (being 
the  principal  mutineers  next  to  Samuel 
B.  Comstock,)  Thomas  Lilliston,  Row 
land  Coffin,  William  Lay,  Cyrus  M* 
Hussey,  Columbus  Worth,  Rowland 
Jones,  and  the  Sandwich  Island  native, 
called  Joseph  Brown.  The  last  five  I 
believe  ignorant  of  any  knowledge  of 
the  intent  to  murder. 

Q.  What  became  of  Samuel  B.  Com 
stock,  who  was  the  head  mutineer  after 
he  landed  upon  the  Island  ? 

Jl.  He  was  shot  on  the  morning  of 
the  17th  Feb.  by  Silas  Payne,  and  John 
Oliver,  his  associates  in  all  the  mutiny 
and  murderous  course  they  had  pursu~ 
ed,  and  buried  five  feet  deep  on  the 
beach  near  taeir  tent ;  a  chapter  was 
read  from  the  bible  by  me,  acting  un 
der  the  orders  of  Payne,  and  muskets 
were  fired  by  his  orders,  by  the  men. 

Q.  Why"  did  they  murder  Com- 
stock  ? 


55 

*fl.  For  giving  away  to  the  natives 
clothes  and  other  articles  before  they 
were  divided. 

Q,  Were  the  natives  friendly  and 
quiet  ? 

«/2,  Yes ;  very  peaceable,  gave  a- 
way  any  thing  they  had  ;  ^read  fruit, 
cocoanuts  and  other  things. 

Q.  How  did  Joseph  Thomas  con 
duct  himself  during  the  passage  from 
the  Isle  to  this  port  ? 

Jl.  In  common,  when  help  was  cal 
led,  he  was  the  first  man  disobedient, 
and  frequently  said  he  would  do  as  he 
pleased. 

Q.  Did  he  often  speak  of  the  mur 
der,  or  of  his  knowing  it  about  to  take 
place  ? 

Jl.  I  only  remember,  having  heard 
him  twice.  I  told  him  when  we  arri 
ved,  I  would  inform  the  American  Con- 
sul  of  it;  to  which  he  replied,  he  should 
own  all  he  knew  about  it. 

Q.  To  what  State  does  he  belong 
to  your  knowledge  P 


56 

*2.  To  the  State  of  Connecticut,  he 
says. 

(Signed)  GILBERT  SMITH, 

Sworn  to,  before  me  at  Valparaiso, 
this  eighteenth  day  of  June,  1824. 
(Signed)  MICHAEL  HOGAN, 
U.  S.  Consul, 

The  examination  of  the  others  who 
came  in  the  ship,  was  but  a  repetition 
of  the  toregoing.  All,  however,  con 
curred  in  believing,  that  Joseph  Thom 
as  v*as  privy  to  the  intention  to  mutiny, 
and  murder  the  officers. 

The  ship  was  then  furnished  with  ne 
cessary  sails  and  rigging,  and  placed  in 
charge  of  a  Captain  King,  who  brought 
her  to  the  Island  of  Nantucket,  arriving 
on  Sunday  2ist  November,  1824.  An 
other  examination  was  held  before  Jo- 
siaii  Hussey,  Esq.  and  all  testified,  as  be 
fore  the  American  Consul  at  Valpar 
aiso, 

Thomas,  who  was  put  in  irons  as  soon 
as  the  land  was  discovered,  was  arraign 
ed  before  the  above  named  justice,  and 
after  an  elaborate  hearing,  the  prisoner 


57 

was  committed  to  jail,  to  take  his  trial  at 
the  following  term  of  the  U.  S.  District 
Court,  and  the  witnesses  recognised  in 
the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  each. 

Leaving  Thomas,  awaiting  his  trial, 
and  the  others  in  the  enjoyment  of  the 
society  of  their  families  and  friends,  we 
will  return  to  the  Mulgrave  Islands,  the 
scene  of  no  inconsiderable  portion  of 
our  distresses  and  adventures; 

On  the  17th  Feb.    when  night  came, 
the  watch  was  set  consisting  of  two  men, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  guard  against  the 
thefts  of  the  natives.     At  about  10  P. 
M.  all  hands  were  awakened  by   the 
cry  ;  "  rl*he  ship  has  gone,  the  ship  has 
gone  !"     Every   one    hastened  to  the 
beach  and  verified  the  truth  of  the  re 
port  for  themselves.     Some  who  were 
ignorant  of  the  intention  of  Smith  and 
others,  to  take  the  ship,  were  of  opinion 
that  the  strong  breeze  then  blowing,  had 
caused  her  to  drag  her  anchor,  and  that 
she  would  return  in  the  morning. 

The  morning  came,  but  nothing  was 
to  be  seen  upon  the  broad  expanse  of 


58 

Ocean,  save  here  and  there    a   solitary 
seagull,  perched  upon  the  crested  bil 
low,     Payne  in  a  paroxism  of  rage,  ven 
ted   the  most   dreadful  imprecations  ; 
swearing  that  could  he  get  them  once 
more  in  his  power,  he  would  put  them 
to  instant  death.     Not  so  with  us  ;  a  ray 
of  hope  shot   through   our  minds,  that 
this  circumstance  might  be  the  means  of 
rescuing  us  from  our  lonely  situation. — 
The  writers  of  this  narrative  were  upon 
the  most  intimate  terms,  and  frequently, 
though  carefully,  sympathized  with  each 
other  upon  their  forlorn  situation.     We 
dare  not  communicate  our  disaffection 
to  the  Government  of  the  two  surviving 
mutineers,   (Payne  and  Oliver,)  to  the 
others,  fearing  they   might  not   agree 
with  us  in  opinion,  and  we  had  too  good 
reason  tp  believe,  that  there  was  one, 
who  although  unstained  by   blood,  yet 
from  his  conduct,    seemed  to  sanction 
the  proceedings  of  the  mutineers. 

The  natives  assembled  in  great  num 
bers  around  the  tent,  expressing  great 
surprise  at  the  ship's  having  left,—* 


59 

Payne  gave  them  to  understand  that 
the  wind  had  forced  her  to  sea,  and  that 
from  her  want  of  sails,  rigging,  &c.  she 
must  be  lost,  and  would  never  return. — 
The  natives  received  the  assurance 
with  satisfaction,  but  it  was  evident, 
Payne  apprehended  her  safe  arrival  at 
some  port,  and  his  own  punishment; 
for  we  were  immediately  set  to  work,  to 
tear  one  boat  to  pieces,  for  the  purpose 
of  raising  upon  another,  which  was  to 
have  a  deck  ;  Pajne.  alleging  as  a  rea 
son  for  this,  that  the  natives  might  com 
pel  us  to  leave  the  Island.  We  leave 
the  reader  to  judge,  however,  of  his  mo 
tives,  while  we  proceed  to  give  an  ac 
count  of  what  actually  did  transpire. 

The  natives  in  considerable  numbers 
continued  to  attend  us,  and  while  the 
work  was  progressing,  exhibited  a  great 
deal  of  curiosity.  Their  deportment 
towards  us  continued  to  be  of  the  most 
friendly  nature,  continuing  to  barter 
with  us,  giving  us  bread  fruit,  cocpanuts, 
&c.  tor  which  they  received  in  return, 
pieces  of  iron  hoop,  nails,  and  such  ar- 


60 
tides  as  we  could  conveniently  spare. 

The  small  Islands  of  this  groupe  are 
frequently  only  separated  by  what  are 
sometimes  denominated  causeways,  or 
in  other  words,  connected  by  reefs  of 
coral,  extending  from  the  extreme  point 
of  one  Island  and  connecting  it  with  an 
other.  These  reefs  are  nearly  dry  at 
low  water,  and  the  communication  is 
easily  kept  up  between  them  by  the  na 
tives  on  foot. 

On  the  19th,  in  the  morning,  having 
obtained  permission,  several  of  us  left 
the  tent,  travelling  to  the  Eastward. — 
After  crossing  upon  the  causeways  to 
several  adjacent  islands,  we  discovered 
numerous  tracks  of  the  natives  in  the 
sand,  and  having  followed  them  about 
seven  miles,  came  to  a  village  consisting 
of  about  twenty  or  thirty  families;  and 
were  received  by  them  with  great  hos 
pitality.  They  presented  us  with  bread 
fruit  and  the  milk  of  cocoanuts,  while 
the  wonder  and  astonishment  of  those 
who  had  not  as  yet  seen  us,  particular 
ly  the  women  and  children,  were  expres- 


61 

sed  by  the  most  uncouth  grimaces,  atten 
ded  with  boisterous  laughter,  and  caper 
ing  around  us.  What  more  particularly 
excited  their  astonishment  was  the  white 
ness  of  our  skins,  and  their  mirth  knew  no 
bounds  when  they  heard  us  converse. 

Early  on  the  morning   of  the  20th, 
we  were  ordered  to  go  to   work  upon 
the  boat  ;  but  at  the  request  of  a  num 
ber,  this  duty  was  dispensed  with,  and 
we  permitted  to  stroll  about  the  Island. 
A  number  went  to  the  village,  carrying 
with  them   muskets,  at  the  report  of 
which  and  the  effect  produced  by   the 
balls,  the  natives  were  struck  with  wond 
er  and  astonishment.  The  reader  will  no 
doubt  agree  with  us  when  we  pronounce 
this  to  have  been  a  bad  policy,  for  they 
certainly  disliked  to  have  visitors  pos 
sessed  of  such  formidable  and  destruct 
ive  weapons.     They  however  continu 
ed  to  visit  the  tent  without  discovering 
any  hostile  intentions,  and  we  continued 
to  put  the  utmost  confidence  in  them, 
or  more  properly  speaking  to  live  with 
out  any  fear  of  them. 
7 


62 

I  (William  Lay,)  left  the  tent  on  a 
visit  to  the  village,  where  I  was  receiv 
ed  with  Hie  same  kindness  as  hefore*-^- 
An  old  man  between  50  and  60  years  of 
age,  pressed  me  to  go  to  his  house  and 
tarry  during  the  night,  which  I  did. — 
The  natives  continued  in  and  around 
the  tent  until  a  late  hour,  gratifying  their 
curiosity  by  a  sight  of  me.  I  was  provi 
ded  with  some  mats  to  sleep  upon,  but 
the  rats,  with  which  the  Island  abounds, 
prevented  my  enjoying  much  sleep. 

At  10  o'clock  I  took  my  leave  of 
them,  with  the  exception  of  a  number, 
who  accompanied  me  to  the  tent. 

Silas  Payne  and  John  Oliver,  togeth 
er  with  two  or  three  others,  set  out  in 
one  of  the  boats,  for  the  purpose  of  ex 
ploring  the  Island,  and  making  new  dis 
coveries,  leaving  the  rest  of  us  to  guard 
the  tent.  They  were  absent  but  one 
night,  when  they  returned,  bringing  with 
them  two  young  women,  whom  Payne 
and  Oliver  took  as  their  wives.  The  wo 
men  apparently  showing  no  dissatisfac 
tion,  but  on  the  contrary  appeared  much 


63 

diverted,     Payne  now  put  such  confi 
dence  in  the  native,  that  h    Jtsp^ased 
with    having  a    w;-ifr.ch  k .  *>i    during;  the 
night,  and  slept  a*          :  -  as  though  he 
had  been  in  ,,is  hat        country, 

Payne,  ou  a-./n  (•  .,  n?ar  mo^nin*,  found 
the  woman  thai  ie  had  brought  to  li^e 
withhivii  vvas  ;>  listing.  After  searching 
the  tent,  and  ii  •  ug  nothing  of  her,  con 
cluded  she  ha  fled.  He  ^accordingly 
armed  himrfe.tf,  to^eth^r  vith  John  Oli 
ver  and  Thomas  Lilliston,'  (with  mus 
kets,)  and  set  out  for  the  nearest  vil 
lage,  for  the  purpose  of  searching  h<=r 
Oiiu  They  arrived  at  the  village  before 
it  was  light,  and  secreted  themselves 
near  an  Indian  h  it,  where  they  awaited 
the  approach  of  day,  in  hopes  of  seeing 
her.  Accordingly  at  the  approach  of 
day-light,  they  discovered  the  hut  liter^ 
ally  thronged  with  natives,  and  among 
the  number,  they  discovered  the  woman 
they  were  in  search  of.  At  this  mo 
ment  one  of  them  fired  a  blank  cartridge 
over  their  heads,  and  then  presented 
themselves  to  their  view,  which  fright- 


64 

ened  the  natives  in  such  a  manner  that 
they  left  the  hut  and  fled.  Payne  then 
pursued  after,  tiring  over  their  heads 
till  he  caught  the  one  he  wanted,  and 
then  left  the  village  for  his  own  tent. — 
On  arriving  at  the  tent,  he  took  her, 
gave  her  a  severe  flogging  and  then 
put  her  in  irons,  and  carried  on  in  this 
kind  of  style  until  he  was  by  them  kil 
led,  and  called  to  render  up  his  accounts 
to  his  offended  Judge, 

This  severity  on  the  part  of  Payne, 
irritated  the  natives,  and  was  undoubt 
edly  the  cause  of  their  committing  de 
predations  and  theft,  and  finally  mur 
dering  all  our  remaining  crew,  except 
ing  myself  and  flussey. 

Early  on  the  succeeding  morning,  it 
was  discovered  that  the  tool  chest  had 
been  broken  open,  and  a  hatchet,  chisel, 
and  some  other  articles,  purloined  by 
the  natives.    Payne  worked  himself  in 
to  a  passion,  and  said  he  would  be  re 
venged.     During  the  day  he  informed 
a  number  of  the  natives  of  what  had 
been  done,  (who  signified  much  regret 


65 

at  the  circumstance,)  and  vowing  ven 
geance  if  the  articles  were  not  return 
ed.  'During  this  day  the  natives  fre 
quented  the  tent  more  than  they  had 
ever  done  before  ;  and  at  night  one  of 
them  came  running  with  one  half  of  the 
chisel  which  had  been  stolen,  it  having 
been  broken  in  two. 

Payne  told  them  it  was  but  half  of 
what  he  required,  and  put  the  Indian  in 
irons,  signifying  to  him,  that  in  the  mor 
ning  he  must  go  with  him  to  the  village, 
and  produce  the  rest  of  the  articles,  and 
also  point  out  the  persons  engaged  in 
breaking  open  the  chest.  The  poor  na 
tive  seemedmuch  chagrined  at  his  con 
finement  ;  yet  his  companions  who  re 
mained  near  the  tent  during  the  night, 
manifested  no  dissatisfaction,  which  we 
could  observe. 

In  the  morning,  Payne  selected  four 
men,  viz  :  Rowland  Coffin,  Rowland 
Jones,  Cyrus  M.  Hussey,  and  Thomas 
Liiliston,  giving  them  each  a  musket, 
some  powder  and  fine  shot  ;  declining 

to  give  them  balls,  saying,  the  report  of 

7* 


66 

the  muskets  would  be  sufficient  to  in- 
timidate  them.  The  prisoner  was  pla 
ced  in  charge  of  these  men,  who  ha'd  or 
ders  to  go  to  the  village,  and  recover 
the  hatchet  and  bring  back  the  person 
whom  the  prisoner  might  point  out  as 
the  thief. 

They  succeeded  in  getting  the  hatch 
et,  but  when  about  to  return,  the  na 
tives  in  a  great  body,  attacked  them 
with  stones.  Finding  that  they  retreat 
ed,  the  natives  pursued  them,  and  hav 
ing  overtaken  Rowland  Jones,  killed 
him  upon  the  spot.  The  remainder,  al 
though  bruised  with  the  stones  which 
these  Islanders  had  thrown  with  great 
precision,  arrived  at  the  tent  with  the 
alarming  intelligence  of  a  difficulty  ; — 
while  they  followed  in  the  rear  armed 
for  war  ! 

No  time  was  lost  in  arming  ourselves, 
while  the  natives  collected  from  all 
quarters,  and  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  tent,  seemed  to  hold  a  kind  of  coun 
cil  After  deliberating  some  time,  they 
began  to  tear  to  pieces  one  of  the  boats. 


67 

These  were  of  vital  importance  to 
our  guilty  commander,  and  he  ventured 
to  go  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  pacify 
ing  them.  One  of  the  Chiefs  sat  down 
upon  the  ground  with  him,  and  after  they 
had  set  a  few  moments,  Payne  accom 
panied  the  Chief  into  the  midst  of  the 
natives.  After  a  conference  with  them 
which  lasted  nearly  an  hour,  he  return 
ed  to  the  tent,  saying  that  he  had  paci 
fied  the  natives  upon  the  following  con 
ditions.  They  were  to  have  every  ar 
ticle  belonging  to  us,  even  to  the  tent ; 
and  Payne  had  assured  them  of  his  wil 
lingness,  and  that  of  the  others  to  live 
with,  and  be  governed  by  them,  and  to 
adopt  their  mode  of  living  !  We  have 
reason  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  Payne 
in  this  respect,  for  what  was  to  us  a  hope 
which  we  cherished  with  peculiar  pleas 
ure,  must  have  been  to  him5  a  source 
of  fearful  anticipation — we  mean  the 
probable  safe  arrival  of  the  ship,  in  the 
U.  S.  which  should  result  in  our  deliv 
erance.  Our  situation  at  this  time  was 
truly  alarming  ;  and  may  we  not  with 


68 

propriety  say,  distressing  ?  Surround 
ed  by  a  horde  of  savages,  brandishing 
their  war  clubs  and  javelins,  our  more 
than  savage  commanders,  (Payne  and 
Olive r)  in  anxious  suspense  as  to  the 
result  ot  their  negociations  with  them  ; 
no  refuge  from  either  foe,  and  what  con 
tributed  not  a  little  to  our  unhappiness, 
was  a  consciousness  of  being  innocent 
of  having  in  the  least  manner  wilful 
ly  aided  the  destroyers  of  the  lives  of 
our  officers,  and  the  authors  of  ournow, 
truly  unhappy  situation. 

The  natives  now  began  to  help  them 
selves  to  whatever  articles  suited  them, 
and  when  some  of  them  began  to  pull 
the  tent  down,  an  old  man  and  his  wife 
took  hold  of  me,  and  after  conducting 
me  a  few  rods  from  the  tent,  sat  down, 
keeping  fast  hold  of  my  hands.  Under 
the  most  fearful  apprehensions  I  en 
deavoured  to  get  from  them,  but  they 
insisted  upon  detaining  me.  I  endeav 
oured  to  console  myself  with  the  idea, 
that  gratitude  .had  prompted  them  to 
take  care  of  me,  as  I  had  frequently  ta- 


69 

ken  the  part  of  this  old  woman,  whe» 
she  had  been  teased  by  others  ;  but 
alas  !  the  reflection  followed,  that  if  this 
was  the  case,  there  was  a  probability 
that  not  only  my  bosom,  friend,  was  a- 
bout  to  be  sacrificed,  but  1  should  be 
left  alone  to  drag  out  a  weary  existence, 
with  beings,  strangers  to  the  endearing 
ties  which  bind  the  hearts  of  civilized 
man. 

Whether  Payne  and  his  associates  of 
fered  any  resistance  to  the  course  now 
pursued  by  the  natives  or  not,  I  do  not 
know.  Suffice  it  to  say>  that  all  at  once 
my  ears  were  astounded  with  the  most 
terrifying  whoops  and  yells  5  when  a 
massacre  commenced  but  little  exceed 
ed  by  the  one  perpetrated  on  board  the 
Globe.  Our  men  fled  in  all  directions, 
but  met  a  foe  at  every  turn.  Lilliston 
and  Joe  Brown  (the  Sandwich  Island 
er,)  fell  within  six  feet  of  me,  and  as 
soon  as  down,  the  natives  macerated 
their  heads  with  large  stones.  The  first 
whom  I  saw  killed,  was  Columbus 
Worth.  An  old  woman,  apparently  six- 


70 

ty  years  of  age,  ran  him  through  with  a 
spear,  and  finished  him  with  stones  ! 

My  protectors,  for  now  they   were 
truly  so,  shut  out  the  scene    by  laying 
down  upon  the  tpp  of  me,   to  hide  me 
from  the  view  of  the  merciless  foe  !     I 
was  however  discovered,   and    one    of 
the  natives  attempted  to  get  a  blow  at 
me  with  a  handspike,  which  was  preven 
ted  by  them  ;  when,  after  a  few  words, 
ke  hurried  away. 

As  soon  as  the  work  of  death  had  been 
completed,  the  old  man  took  me  by  the 
hand  and  hurried  me  along  towards  the 
village.     My  feet  were  very  much  lac- 
cerated  in  passing  over  the  causeioays 
of  sharp  coral  rock,  but  my  conductor 
fearing  we  might  be  pursued,  hurried 
me  onward  to  the  village,  where  we  ar 
rived  about  noon.     In  a  few  minutes  the 
wigwam  or  hut  of  the  old  man,  was  sur 
rounded,  and  all  seeming  to  talk  at  once, 
and  with  great  excitement,  I  anticipated 
death  every  moment.    Believing  myself 
the  sole  survivor,  the  reader  must  par 
don  any  attempt  to  describe   my  feel- 


71 

ings,  when  I  saw  a  number  of  the  na 
tives  approaching  the  hut,  and  in  the 
midst,  Cyrus  M.  Hussey,  conducted 
with  great  apparent  kindness. 

Notwithstanding  we  had  both  been 
preserved  much  after  the  same  manner, 
we  could  not  divest  ourselves  of  the  ap 
prehension,  that  we  perhaps  had  been 
preserved,  for  a  short  time,  to  suffer 
some  lingering  death. 

Our  interview  was  only  long  enough 
to  satisfy  each  other  that  we  alone  sur 
vived  the  massacre,  when  we  were  sep 
arated  ;  Hussey  being  taken  away,  and 
it  seemed  quite  uncertain,  even  if  our 
lives  were  spared,  whether  we  ever  saw 
each  other  again. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  the  following  day,  however,  ac 
companied  by  natives,  we  met  at  the 
scene  of  destruction,  and  truly  it  was 
an  appalling  one  to  us.  The  mangled 
corpses  of  our  companions,  rendered 
more  ghastly  from  the  numerous  wounds 
they  had  received,  the  provisions,  cloth 
ing,  &e.  scattered  about  the  ground, 
the  hideous  yells  of  exultation  uttered 
by  the  natives,  all  conspired  to  render 
our  situation  superlatively  miserable. 

We  asked,  and  obtained  leave  from 

our  masters,  to  bury  the  bodies  which 

lay    scattered  about.     We    dug   some 

graves  in  the  sand,   and  after  finishing 

this  melancholy  duty,  were  directed  to 

launch  the  canoes,  preparatory  to  our 

departure,  (for  we  had  come  in  canoes) 

when  we  begged  permission,  which  was 

readily   granted,   to    take  some  flour, 

bread  and  pork,  and  our  respective  mas- 


73 

ters  assisted  us  ifi  getting  a  small  quan 
tity  of  these  articles  into  the  largest  ca 
noe.   We  also  took  a  blanket  each,  some 
shoes,  a  number  of  books,  including  a 
bible,  and  soon  arrived  at  the  landing 
place  near  the  village.     As  the  natives 
seemed  desirous  of  keeping  us  apart, 
we  dare  not  make  any  inquiries    for 
each    other,   but  at  my  request,  hav 
ing  boiled  some  pork  in  a  large  shell, 
Hussey  was  sent  for,  and  we  had  a  meal 
together  ;  during  which  time,  the  na 
tives  assembled  in  great  numbers,  all 
anxious  to  get  a  sight,  not  only  of  our 
novel  mode  of  cutting  the  meat  and  eating 
it,  but  of  the  manner  in  which  we  pre 
pared  it.     One  of  them  brought  us  some 
water  in  a  tfn  cup,  as  they  had  seen  us 
drink  frequently  when  eating. 

The  natives  now  began  to  arrive  from 
distant  parts  of  the  islands,   many  of 
whom  had  not  yet  heard  of  us,  and  we 
were  continually  subjected  to  the  ex 
amination  of  men,  women  and  children. 
The   singular  colour  of  our  skin,  wag 
the  greatest  source  of  their  admiration, 
8 


74 

and  we  were  frequently  importuned  tp 
adopt  their  dress. 

On  the  28th  Feb.  early  in  the  morn- 
ing  the  whole  village  appeared  to  be  in 
motion.  All  the  adults  commenced  or 
namenting  themselves,  which"  to  me  ap 
peared  to  render  them  hideous.  After 
greasing  themselves  with  cocoanut  oil, 
and  hanging  about  them  numerous 
strings  of  beads,  they  set  off,  taking  us 
with  them,  to  a  flat  piece  of  ground,  a- 
bout  half  a  mile  distant,  where  we  found 
collected  a  great  number,  and  all  orna 
mented  in  the  same  fastastic  manner,— 
Knowing  that  many  of  the  natives  in 
habiting  Islands  in  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
are  cannibals,  we  were  not  without 
our  fears  that  we  had  been  preserved 
to  grace  a  feastj  Our  apprehensions, 
however,  were  dissipated,  when  we  saw 
them  commence  a  dance,  of  which  we 
will  endeavour  to  give  the  reader  some 
idea.  The  only  musical  instrument  we 
saw,  was  a  rude  kind  of  drum  ;  and  the 
choristers  were  all  females,  say  twenty 
or  thirty,  each  having  one  of  these 


75 

drums.    The  music  commenced  with 
the  women,  who  began  upon  a  very 
low  key,  gradually  raising  the  notes, 
while  the  natives   accompanied  them 
with  the  most  uncouth  gesticulations 
and    grimaces.     The    precision    with 
which   about   three  hundred  of  these 
people,  all  dancing  at  a  time,  regulated 
their  movements,  was  truly  astonishing ; 
while  the  yelling  of  the  whole  body, 
each  trying  to  exceed  the  other,  ren 
dered  the  scene  to  us,  not  only  novel, 
but  terrifick. 

The  dance  ended  near  night,  and 
those  natives  who  lived  in  a  distant  part 
of  the  Island,  after  gratifying  their  cu 
riosity  by  gazing  upon  us,  and  even 
feeling  of  our  skins,  took  their  depar 
ture. 

After  our  return  to  the  village,  we 
cooked  some  meat  upon  the  coals,  and 
with  some  bread,  made  a  hearty  meal. 
One  source  of  regret  to  us,  was,  that  the 
natives  began  to  like  our  bread,  which 
heretofore  they  had  scarcely  dared  to 
taste ;  and  particularly  the  woman  whoir 


76 

I  called  mistress,  ate,  to  use  a  sea 
phrase,  her  full  allowance. 

The  natives  expressed  great  dislike 
at  our  conversing  together,  and  prohib 
ited  our  reading,  as  much  as  .possible. 
We  never  could  make  them  comprehend 
that  the  book  conveyed  ideas  to  us,  ex 
pressed  in  our  own  language. 

Whether  from  a  fear  that  we  might 
concert  some  plan  of  escape,  or  that  we 
might  be  the  means  of  doing  them  some 
injury  while  together,  we  know  not ; — 
but  about  the  first  of  April,  we  discov 
ered  that  we  were  about  to  be  separa 
ted  !  The  reader  may  fcrni  SGine  idea 
of  our  feelings  when  we  were  informed 
that  Hussey  was  to  be  taken  by  his 
master  anu  family,  to  £  distant  part  of 
the  Island !  Not  having  as  yet  become 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  their  lan 
guage,  we  were  unable  to  comprehend 
the  distance  from  our  present  location. 

It  now  becomes  expedient  to  present 
the  reader  with  our  separate  accounts,  in 
which  we  hope  to  be  able  to  convey  an 
idea  of  the  manners  and  customs  of 


77" 

these  people.  We  had  experienced  in 
ar  very  short  time  so  many  vicissitudes, 
and  passed  through  so  many  scenes  of 
distress,  that  no  opportunity  was  afford 
ed  to  keep  a  journal,  and  notwithstand 
ing  we  had  even  lost  the  day  of  the 
week  and  month,  yet  with  such  force, 
were  the  principal  incidents  which  oc 
curred  during  our  exile,  impressed  up 
on  our  minds,  that  we  can  with  confi 
dence  proceed  with  our  narrative,  and 
will  commence  the  next  chapter  with 
an  account  of  the  adventures  of  William 


CHAPTER  V. 

EARLY  in  the  morning  of  the  day  on 
which  Hussey  left  me,  preparations 
were  made  for  his  embarkation  with  his 
new  master  and  family.  We  were  al 
lowed  a  short  interview,  and- after  taking 
aa  affectionate  leave  of  each  other,  we 
parted  with  heavy  hearts*  The  tender 
S* 


78 

ties  which  bound  me  to  my  companion 
in  misfortune,  seemed  now  about  to  be 
forever  broken  asunder.  No  features 
to  gaze  upon,  but  those  of  my  savage 
masters,  and  no  one  with  whom  I  could 
hold  converse,  my  heart  seemed  burst 
ing  with  grief  at  my  lonely  situation.— 
On  the  departure  of  my  companion,  the 
•'  star  of  hope"  which  had  often  gleam 
ed  brightly  mid  the  night  of  our  mise 
ries,  seemed  now  about  to  set  forever  ! 
After  watching  the  canoe  which  bore 
him  from  me,  until  she  was  hid  from  my 
view  in  the  distance,  I  returned  to  the 
hut  with  my  master,  and  as  I  had  eaten 
but  little  during  the  day,  the  calls  of  na 
ture  induced  me  to  broil  my  last  morsel 
of  meat,  with  which,  and  some  bread,  I 
made  a  tolerable  supper.  The  natives 
began  to  be  very  fond  of  the  bread,  and 
eat  of  it  as  long  as  it  lasted,  which  unfor 
tunately  for  me,  was  but  a  short  time. 

I  informed  my  master  that  I  should 
like  to  have  some  more  of  the  meat  from 
the  place  where  the  ship  had  lain.  On 
the  following  morning,  my  master,  mis- 


79 

tress,  and  four  or  five  others  embarked 
in  a  canoei,  to  assist  me  in  procuring 
some  provisions.  Observing  that  they 
carried  with  them  a  number  of  clubs, 
and  each  a  spear,  I  was  apprehensive 
of  some  design  upon  my  own  person ; 
but  happily,  was  soon  relieved,  by  see 
ing  them  wade  round  a  shoal  of  fish,  and 
after  having  frightened  them  into  shoal 
water,  kill  a  number  with  their  spears. 
We  then  proceeded  on,  and  when  we 
arrived  at  the  tent,  they  cooked  them 
after  the  following  manner.  A  large 
fire  was  kindled,  and  after  the  wood 
was  burned  to  coals,  the  fish  were 
thrown  on,  and  snatched  and  eaten  as 
fast  as  cooked  ;  although  they  were 
kind  enough  to  preserve  a  share  for  me, 
yet  the  scene  around  me,  prevented  my 
enjoying  with  them,  their  meal.  The 
tent  which  had  been  torn  down,  had 
contained  about  forty  barrels  of  beef 
and  pork,  two  hogsheads  of  molasses, 
barrels  of  pickles,  all  the  clothing  and 
stores  belonging  to  the  ship,  in  short, 
every  thing  valuable,  such  as  charts, 


80 

nautical  instruments,  &c.  &c.     The  lat 
ter  had  been  broken  and  destroyed,  tc 
make  ornaments,  while  the  beef,  pork 
molasses  and  small  stores  lay  scattere* 
promiscuously  around.     They  appear 
ed  to  set  no  value  upon  the  clothing,  ex 
cept  to  tear  and  destroy  it.     The  pieces 
of  beef  and   pork,   from  the   barrels, 
(which  had  been  all  stove,)  were  scat 
tered  in  every  direction,  and  putrifying 
in  the  sun.     Alter  putting  into  the  ca 
noe  some  pork  and  a  few  articles  of 
clothing,  we  commenced  our  return  ; — 
but  a  strong  head  wind  blowing,  we  had 
considerable  difficulty  in  getting  back. 
For  some  considerable  time,  nothing 
material  occurred,  and  I  led  as  monoto 
nous  and  lonely  a  life,  as  could  well  be 
imagined.     It  is  true,  I  was  surround 
ed  by  lellow  beings  ;  and  had  all  hope 
of  ever  seeing  my  country  and  friends 
again,  been  blasted,  it  is  probable  I 
might  have  become  more  reconciled  to 
my  condition,  but  I  very  much  doubt  if 
ever  perfectly  so,  as-long  as  reason  and 
reflection  held  their  empire  over  my 


81 

mind.  My  books  having  been  destroy 
ed  from  a  superstitious  notion  of  their 
possessing  some  supernatural  power,  I 
was  left  to  brood  over  my  situation  un- 
pitied  and  alone. 

Sometime  in  July,  as  I  judged,  Luck- 
iair,  son-in-law  to  my  master,  Ludjuan, 
came  from  a  distant  part  of  the  groupe, 
on  a  visit,  and  during  the  week  he  re 
mained  with  us,  we  became  much  at 
tached  to  each  other.  When  he  told 
me,  that  on  his  return  he  should  pass 
near  the  place  where  Hussey  lived,  my 
anxiety  to  accompany  him  thus  far,  was 
so  great,  that  after  much  persuasion, 
Ludjuan  gave  his  consent  for  me  to  go. 
On  our  way  we  stopped  at  the  tent,  and 

i  procured  Tor  me  last  timG,  *  ?!T^11 
quantity  of  the  ship's  provisions,  although 
the  meat  was  some  of  it  in  a  very  de 
cayed  state. 

In  consequence  of  head  winds,  we 
were  compelled  to  stop  for  the  night 
upon  a  small  Island,  where  we  found 
an  uninhabited  hut ;  and  after  cooking 
some  meat,  and  baking  some  wet  flour 


82 

(for  it  was  no  other)  in  the  ashes,  we 
took  our  mats  into  the  hut,  and  remain 
ed  until  next  day      The  wind  continu 
ing  to  blow  fresh  ahead,   we  gathered 
some  green  bread   fruit,  and  cooked 
some  meat,  in  the  same  manner  as  they 
cook  the  largest  of  their  fish,  which  is 
this. — A  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground,  and 
after  it  has  been  filled  with  wood,  it  is 
set  on  fire,  and  then  covered  with  stones. 
As  the  wood  burns  away,  the  heated 
stones  fall  to  the  bottom,  which,  when 
the  fire  is  out,  are  covered  with  a  thick 
layer  of  green  leaves,  and  then  the  meat 
or  fish  is  placed  upon  these  leaves,  and 
covered  again  in  a  careful   and  ingeni 
ous  manner,  and  the  whole  covered  with 
earth.     This  preserves  the  juices  of  the 
fish,  and  in  this  way  do  they  cook  most 
of  their  fish,  with  hot  stones. 

In  the  afternoon  the  weather  proving 
more  favourable,  we  left  our  encamp 
ment,  and  at  sun  down  arrived  at  a 
place  called  Tuckawoa ;  at  which  place 
we  were  treated  with  the  greatest  hos 
pitality.  When  we  were  about  to  leave, 


83 

we  were  presented  with  breadfruit  and 
cocoanuts  in  great  abundance.     As  we 
approached  the  place  of  Hussey's  resi 
dence,  I  discovered  him  standing  on 
the  beach.     Our  joy  at  meeting,  I  will 
not  attempt  to   describe. — We  had  a 
short  time,  however,    allowed   us,   in 
which  to  relate  our  adventures,  and  con 
dole  with  each  other ;  for  in  an  hour  we 
were   once   more  separated ;    and  we 
pursued  our  course  for  the  residence 
of  Luck-i-a-ir.    After  encamping  anoth 
er  night  upon  the  beach,  we  at  length 
arrived  at  the  house  of  my  conductor, 
which  was  at  a  place  called  Dillybun. 
His  family  consisted  of  his  wife  and  one 
child,  whom  we  found  busily  engaged 
in  making  a  fishing  net.     When  near 
night  Luckiair  and  myself  went  out  and 
gathered  some  breadfruit,  and  after  ma 
king  a  hearty  meal,  slept  soundly  upon 
our  mats  until  morning. 

A  little  before  noon  on  the  following 
day,  two  natives  with  their  wives,  arri 
ved  from  Luj-no-ne-wort,  the  place 
where  Hussey  lived,  and  brought  me 


84 

some  flour,  and  a  piece  of  meat.     The 
natives  would  eat  of  the    bread,   but 
would  not  taste  of  the  meat,     I  remain 
ed  here  about  a  week,  when   Ludjuan 
came  for  me.     Nothing    occurred    of 
note,  during  our  passage  back  to  Milly, 
(the  place  of  my  residence,)   where   I 
was  welcomed  by  the  natives  with  eve" 
ry  demonstration  of  joy.     I  was  -sent 
for  by  one  of  the  chiefs,  who  asked  ma 
ny  questions,  and  as  a  mark  of  his  friend 
ship  for   me,   when  I  was  about  to  re 
turn,  presented  me  with  a  kind  of  food 
called  cha~kak-a.    My  present  consist 
ed  of  a  piece  about   two  feet  long   and 
six  inches  in  diameter.     It  is  made  of  a 
kind  of  fruit  common  among  these  Isl 
ands,  and   called  by  the    inhabitants, 
bup.     The  fruit  is  scraped  very  fine,  and 
then  laid  in  the  sun  until  perfectly  dry. 
Some  of  the  leaves  of  the  tree  bearing 
the  fruit,  are  then  wrapped  round  a 
piece  of  wood,  which  is  the  mould  or 
Jormer,  and  when  securely  tied  with 
strings,  the  former  is   withdrawn,  and 
into  this  cylinder  of  leaves  is  put  the 


85 

bup,  which  is  of  a  sweet  and  pleasant 
taste. 

At  the  urgent  request  of  the  natives, 
I  now  adopted  their  dress.  Having  but 
one  pair  ot  tro  \vsers  and  a  shirt  left,  I 
laid  them  by  for  bad  weather,  and  put 
on  the  costume  of  a  Mulgrave  Islander. 
This  dress,  if  it  may  be  so  called^  con 
sists  in  a  broad  belt  fastened  round  the 
waist,  from  which  is  suspended  two 
broad  tassels.  The  belt  is  made  from 
the  leaves  of  the  bup  tree,  and  very  in 
geniously  braided,  to  which  is  attached 
the  tassels,  which  are  made  of  a  coars 
er  material,  being  the  bark  of  a  small 
vine,  in  their  language  called  aht-aht. 
When  the  dress  is  worn,  one  of  the 
tassels  hangs  before  and  the  other  be 
hind.  The  sun,  as  I  expected,  burned 
my  skin  very  much;  which  the  natives 
could  not  account  for,  as  nothing  of  the 
kind  ever  happened  among  themselves. 

One  day  there  was  seen  approaching 

a  number  of  canoes,  which  we  found 

were  loaded  with  fish  for  the  chiefs,  and 

to  my  great  joy,  Hussey  was  one  of  tho 

9 


86 

passengers.  My  master  accompanied 
me  to  see  him  ;  and  we  anticipated  'at 
least  a  mental  feast  in  each  other's  soci 
ety.  But  of  this  enjoyment  we  were 
deprived  by  the  natives,  who  were  al 
ways  uneasy  when  we  were  conversing 
together. 

I  learned,  however,  from  Hussey, 
that  the'natives  had  been  kind  to  him  ; 
but  before  we  had  an  opportunity  to 
communicate  to  each  other  our  hopevS 
and  fears,  he  was  hurried  away.  Hav 
ing  now  gained  considerable  knowledge 
of  their  language,  I  learned  that  they 
were  afraid  that  if  we  were  permitted 
to  hold  converse,  we  should  be  the 
means  of  provoking  the  Supreme  God, 
*£nit<  to  do  them  some  injury. 

The  bread  fruit  beginning  to  ripen, 
we  were  all  employed  in  gathering  it  ; 
and  I  will  endeavour  to  give  the  reader 
an  idea  of  the  process  of  preserving  it. 
After  the  fruit  was  gathered,  the  outside 
rind  was  scraped  off,  and  the  seeds  ta 
ken  out ;  which  are  in  size  and  appear 
ance  like  a  chesnut.  The  fruit  is  then 


87 

put  into  a  net,  the  meshes  of  which  are 
quite  small,  taken  into  the  salt  water, 
and  then  beat  with  a  club  to  pummice. 
It  is  then  put  into  baskets  made  of  co- 
coanut  leaves,  and  in  about  two  days 
becomes   like    a  rotten   apple ;    after 
which  the  cores  are  taken  out,  and  the 
remainder  after  undergoing  a  process 
of  kneading,  is  put  into   a  hole  in  the 
ground,  the  bottom  and  sides  of  which 
are  neatly  inlaid  with  leaves,  and  left  a- 
bout  two  days  ;  when  it  again  undergoes 
the  same  process  of  kneading,   and  so 
on,  until  it  becomes  perfectly  dry. — •- 
This  occupied  us  a  number  of  days  ; 
and  when  we  were  engaged  in  gather 
ing  another,  and  a  larger  kind,  a  small 
boy  came  running  towards  us*  and  ex 
claimed,  *f  Uroit  a-ro   rayta  mony  l<* 
Wirrum"  that  is*  the  chiefs  are  going 
to  kill  William.     Ludjuan  seeing  that  I 
understood  what  the  boy  said,  he  said 
"  reab-reab !"  it  is  false.   From  the  pains 
taken  by  the  natives  to  keep  Hussey 
and  myself  apart,  it  was  evident  that 
they  were  in  some  measure  afraid  of 


88 

us  ;  but  from  what  cause  I  had  yet  ttf 
learn.     After  passing  a  sleepless  night, 
we  again  in  the  morning  pursued  our  la 
bors,  but  I  was  continually  agitated  by 
fearful  apprehensions.     About  midnight 
I  overheard  some  of  the  natives  in  the 
tent  talking  about  me,  and  I  was  now 
convinced  that  some  injury  was  contem 
plated.     I  then  asked  them  what  I  was 
to  be  killed  for.     They  seemed  surpri 
sed  when  I  told  them  I  had  been  listen 
ing  ;  yet  they  denied  that  I  was  to  be 
killed,  and  one  of  them  who  had  fre 
quently  manifested  for  me  much  friend 
ship,  came  to  my  mat,  and  lay  down  with 
me,  assuring  me    I  should  not  be  in 
jured. 

The  harvest  being  ended,  a  feast  was 
had,  and  the  chiefs  were  presented  with 
considerable  quantities  of  this  fruit,  af 
ter  it  had  been  prepared  and  baked, 
which  in  taste  resembled  a  sweet  pota- 
toe,  sending  presents  of  it  in  all  direc 
tions  about  the  Island. 

Having  now  but  little  work  to  do,  I 
confined  myself  to  the  hut  as  much  as 


89 

possible,  for  I  had  been  observed  for 
some  time  in  a  very  suspicious  manner. 
In  a  fe\v  days  I  was  informed  that  Hus- 
sey  had  been  brought  to  the  Island,  and 
ifr  was  immediately  suggested  to  my 
anxious  mind,  that  we  were  now  to  be 
sacrificed.  Ludjuan  went  with  me  to 
see  Hussey,  but  we  were  only  allowed 
a  few  moments  conversation,  when  I 
was  taken  back  to  the  hut,  and  commu 
nicated  my  fears  to  my  old  mistress,  who 
sympathized  with  me,  but  said  if  the 
chiefs  had  determined  it,  there  was  no 
hope  for  me.  I  now  was  made  acquain 
ted  with  the  cause  of  their  dislike,  which 
was  no  less  than  a  superstitious  idea, 
that  we  were  the  cause  of  a  malady, 
then  raging  to  considerable  extent  ! 

This  disease  consisted  in  the  swel 
ling  of  the  hands  and  feet,  and  in  many 
instances  the  faces  of  the  youth  swelled 
to  such  a  degree,  that  they  were  blind 
for  a  number  of  days*  Such  a  disease 
they  had  never  before  been  afflicted 
with.  I  had  now  an  opportunity  of  most 
solemnly  protesting  my  total  inability 
9* 


90 

io  injure  them  in  this  way,  and  as  the 
disease  had  as  yet  caused  no  death,  I 
had  a  hope  of  being  spared.  I  learned 
that  a  majority  of  the  chiefs  in  council, 
were  for  putting  me  to  death,  but  one 
of  them  in  particular,  protested  against 
it,  fearing  it  might  be  the  cause  of  some 
worse  calamity.  As  the  vote  to  carry 
into  effect  any  great  measure,  must  be 
unanimous,  this  chief  was  the  means  by 
bis  dissenting,  of  saving  my  life. 

The  afflicted  began  to  recover,  and 
my  fears  were  greatly  lessened  ;  but  as 
these  people  are  of  a  very  unstable  and 
changeful  character,  1  could  not  entire 
ly  divest  myself  of  apprehensions. 

As  soon  as  the  harvest  was  comple 
ted,  great  preparations  were  made  for 
the  embarkation  of  the  chiefs,  who 
were  going  to  make  their  annual  visit 
to  the  different  Islands.  They  told  me 
that  the  King,  whom  they  called  La- 
boo-woole-yet,  lived  on  an  Island  at 
the  N.  W.  and  if  he  did  not  receive  his 
yearly  present  of  preserved  bread  fruit 
and  pero,  he  would  come  with  a  great 


91 

to  fight  them.  Twelve  canoes 
were  put  in  the  water,  each  one  carry 
ing  a  part  of  the  provisions,  and  man 
ned  by  about  two  hundred  persons. 

After  an  absence  of  four  or  five  days, 
during  which  time  we  exchanged  civili 
ties  with  numerous  chiefs,  we  returned 
to  Milly^  and  hauled  up  the  canoes.  I 
now  learned  that  the  principal  chief,  had 
said  that  it  would  have  been  wrong  to 
kill  me,  firmly  believing  that  the  dis 
ease  with  which  they  had  been  afflicted, 
had  been  sent  by  their  God,  as  a  pun 
ishment  for  having  killed  Payne  and  the 
others  !  The  malady  having  now  en 
tirely  disappeared,  they  considered  that 
crime  as  expiated  ! 

About  two  days  after  my  return,  there 
was  great  excitement,  in  consequence 
of  the  appearance  of  a  ship  !  Seeing 
the  natives  were  very  much  displeased 
at  the  circumstance,  I  concealed  as  well 
as  I  could,  the  gladdening  emotions 
which  filled  my  breast  ;  and,  surround 
ed  by  about  three  hundred  of  them, 
Went  round  a  point  of  land,  when  J 


92 

distinctty  saw  a  ship  standing  for  the 
land.  The  displeasure  of  the  natives  in 
creased,  they  demanded  to  knowT  where 
she  came  from,  how  many  men  she  had 
in  her,  &c.  t  was  compelled  to  tell 
them  that  she  was  not  coming  to  get 
me,  and  even  pretended  to  be  afraid  of 
her  approach,  which  pleased  them  much, 
as  they  appeared  determined  I  should 
never  leave  them.  At  dusk  she  was  so 
near  the  land,  that  I  saw  them  shorten 
sail,  and  fondly  anticipated  the  hour  o£ 
my  deliverance  as  not  far  distant. 

During  the  night,  sleep  was  a  stran 
ger  to  me,  and  with  the  most  anxious 
emotions  did  I  anticipate  a  welcome  re 
ception  on  board,  and  above  all,  a  hap 
py  and  joyful  landing  on  my  native 
shore.  In  the  morning,  Ludjuan  went 
with  me  to  the  beach,  but  alas  !  no  ship 
was  in  sight.  She  had  vanished,  and 
with  her  had  fled  all  my  hopes  of  a 
speedy  deliverance.  The  kind  reader 
can  perhaps  form  some  idea  of  my  dis 
appointment. 

The  natives  continued  to  be  kind  to 


93 

ihc,  and  I  was  often  complimented  by 
them  for  my  knowledge  of  their  lan 
guage  ;  and  the  appearance  of  my  per 
son  had  very  much  improved,  my   hair 
and  beard  being  long,  and  my  skin  turn 
ed  nearly  as  black  as  their  own  !  I  was 
often  importuned  to  have  my  ears  bor 
ed  and  stretched,  but  never  gave   my 
consent,  which  much  surprised  them,  it 
being  a  great  mark  of  beauty.     They 
begin  at  the  age  of  four  years,  and  per 
forate  the  lower  part  of  the  ear,  with  a 
sharp   pointed  stick  ;  and  as   the  ear 
stretches,  larger  ones  are  inserted,  un 
til  it  will  hang  nearly  to  their  shoulders  ! 
The  larger  the  ear,  the  more  beauty  the 
person  possesses  ! 

About  a  fortnight  after  I  saw  the  ship 
pass,  Hussey  came  with  his  master,  on 
a  visit.  His  disappointment  was  great, 
and  we  could  only  cheer  each  othe/*,  by 
hoping  for  the  best,  and  wait  patiently 
the  pleasure  of  Heaven. 

Hussey  again  left  me,  but  we  parted 
under  less  bodings  of  evil  than  before, 
for  the  kindness  of  the  natives  began  to 


increase,  and  their  suspicions  to  be  al 
layed. 

I  will  here  acquaint  the  reader  with 
some  of  the  means  that  I  was  induced  to 
make  use  of,  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
appetite.  As  the  Island  now  was  in  a 
state  of  almost  entire  famine,  my  daily 
subsistence  not  amounting  to  more  (up 
on  an  average)  than  the  substance  of 
one  half  a  cocoanut  each  day.  The 
chief  I  lived  with,  having  several  cocoa- 
nut  trees  that  he  was  very  choice  of, 
and  which  bore  plentifully  ;  I  would 
frequently,  (after  the  natives  in  the  hut 
were  all  soundly  asleep)  take  the  op 
portunity  and  get  out  of  the  hut  unper- 
ceivedj  and  climb  one  of  those  trees, 
(being  very  careful  about  making  the 
least  noise,  or  letting  any  of  them  drop 
to  the  ground,  whereby  I  might  be  de 
tected,)  and  take  the  stem  of  one  cocoa- 
nut  in  my  mouth,  and  one  in  each  hand, 
and  in  that  manner  make  out  to  slide 
down  the  tree,  and  would  then  (with 
my  prize)  make  the  best  of  my  way  to 
a  bunch  of  bushes,  at  a  considerable  dis- 


95 

tance  from  the  hut,  where  I  would  have 
a  sumptuous  repast ;  and  if  any  remain 
ed,  would  secrete  them,  until  by  hun 
ger,  I  was  drove  to  the  necessity  of  re 
visiting  that  place; 

I  made  a  practice  of  this  for  some 
time,  until  the  chief  began  to  miss  his 
cocoanuts,  and  keep  such  watch,  that  I, 
for  fear  of  being  detected,  was  obliged 
to  relinquish  that  mode  of  satisfying  my 
appetite* 

A  short  time  after  this,  I  ventured  to 
take  a  cocoanut  off  the  ground  where 
the  natives  had  recently  buried  a  per? 
son  ;  a  deed  which  is  strictly  against 
the  laws  of  their  religious  principles,  (if 
it  can  be  said  that  they  have  any,)  and 
a  deed  which  the  jaatives  never  dare  to 
do,  for  fear  of  displeasing  their  God 

(Anit)  under  a  certain  length  of  time 
after  the  person  had  been  buried,  and 

then,  the  spot  is  only  to  be  approached 

by  males. 

Not  twenty-four  hours  had  elapsed 

after  I  took  the  cocoanut,  before  they 

missed  it,  and  coining  immediately  to 


me,  charged  me  with  having  taken  it,  tel 
ling  me  that  not  a  native  on  the  Island 
would  have  dared  so  much  as  to  handle 
it,  (or  fear  of  the  bad  spirit,  (Anit.) 

I  then  told  them  that  I  had  taken  it, 
but  pleading  ignorance  in  the  case,  and 
promising  never  to  do  any  thing  of  the 
like  again,  and  making  it  appear  to  them 
that  I  was  surprised  at  what  they  told 
me  of  the  bad  spirit,  and  also  that  I  be 
lieved  the  same,  they  l»ft  me,  after  tel 
ling  me  that  if  I  ever  handled  another 
of  them,  it  would  not  only  bring  sickness 
and  death  upon  myself,  but  would  bring 
it  upon  the  whole  Island. 

The  reader  will  naturally  suppose, 
that  my  mind  was  considerably  relieved 
on  their  leaving  me  so  soon,  fearing 
that  something  serious  might  be  the  re 
sult. 

After  this  I  was  very  careful  how  I 
did  any  thing  that  I  thought  would  in  the 
least  displease,  or  irritate  them,  and 
made  myself  content  with  the  portion 
they  saw  fit  to  give  me. 

I  frequently  fired  a  musket  to  please 


97 

them,  by  their  request  ;  and  told  them 
if  they  would  let  me  have  some  powder, 
I  would  fire  off  the  swivel,  left  by  the 
Globe.  They  consented,  and  collect 
ed  in  great  numbers,  and  after  I  had 
loaded  the  gun  with  a  heavy  charge,  I 
told  them  they  had  better  stand  back. 
They  said  I  must  set  her  on  fire,  and 
tell  them  when  she  was  going  off,  and 
they  would  run  !  I  however,  touched 
her  off,  when  they  instantly  fell  on  their 
faces  in  the  greatest  panick.  When 
their  fears  had  subsided,  they  set  up 
howling  and  yelling  with  ecstacy  ! 

They  said,  if  they  should  have  a  bat 
tle,  I  must  carry  that  gun  with  me, 
which  would  alone  vanquish  their  en 
emies  ! 

We  were  visited  by  eiqht  or  ten  ca 
noes,  from  a  distant  Island,  called  Alloo. 
They  came  to  exchange  presents  with 
our  chiefs,  and  very  soon  a  great  quan 
tity  ofpero,  &c.  was  baked,  and  having 
been  inspected  by  the  chiefs,  to  see  that 
it  was  in  a  proper  state  to  be  presented 
to  their  visitors,  it  was  given  them  to  eat, 
10 


98 

As  these  people  had  never  seen  me 
before,  I  was  much  annoyed  by  them. 
During  their  stay,  I  was  constantly  sur 
rounded  ;  m\  skin  lelt  of,  and  often  be 
came  the  sport  of  the  more  witty,  be 
cause  my  skin  was  not  of  so  dark  a  hue 
as  their  own,  and  m  re  especially,  as 
my  ears  remained  in  the  same  form,  as 
when  nature  gave  them  to  me.  These 
visitors,  to  my  great  satisfaction,  did 
not  remain  long  with  us. 

Their  mode  of  anchoring  their  ca 
noes  is  singular.  One  of  them  takes 
the  end  of  a  line,  and  diving  to  the  bot 
tom,  secures  it  to  a  rock  ;  and  in  the 
same  way  do  th^y  dive  down  to  cast  it 
off.  I  have  seen  them  do  this  in  five 
fathoms  of  water. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

IT  was  not  until  the  23d  of  Decem 
ber,  1S25,  that  the  prospects  of  being 
relieved  from  my  disagreeable  situation 


99 

began  to  brighten.  Early  in  the  morn 
ing  of  that  day,  I  was  awakened  by  a 
hooting  and  yelling  of  the  natives,  who 
said,  a  vessel  had  anchored  at  the 
head  of  the  Island.  They  seemed  alar 
med,  and  I  need  not  assure  the  reader, 
that  my  feelings  were  of  a  contrary  na 
ture  Their  God  was  immediately  con 
sulted,  as  to  the  measures  to  pursue  ; 
but  as  I  was  not  allowed  to  be  present 
when  he  wa*  invoked,  I  cannot  say  what 
was  the  form  of  this  ceremony,  except 
that  cocoanut  leaves  were  used.  Their 
God,  however,  approved  the  plan,  which 
was,  that  they  should  go  to  the  vessel, 
or  near  her,  and  swim  on  board,  a  few 
at  a  time,  until  two  hundred  were  on 
board,  and  then  a  signal  was  to  be  giv 
en,  when  they  were  to  throw  the  per 
sons  on  board  into  the  water,  and  k"l 
them.  Two  large  canoes  which  we :  d 
carry  fifty  men  each,  were  put  in  ~^>: : 
iness,  but  at  first  they  refused  to  s':  ;••; 
accompany  them,  fearing  that  L  v?;vld 
inform  of  their  having  killed  e^r^en, 
and  they  would  be  punishe  h  1 


100 

ed  them  that  the  vessel,  having  but  two 
masts,  did  not  belong  to  my  nation,  arid 
I  was  certain  I  could  not  speak  their 
language. 

They  at  length  consented  for  me  to 
go.  VVe  arrived  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  vessel  at  night,  and  early  the  foil  ow 
ing  morning,  were  joined  by  a  number  of 
canoes,  which  made  in  all  two  hundred 
men.  It  being  squally  in  the  forenoon, 
we  remained  where  we  were,  but  when 
it  cleared  up,  the  yells  of  the  Indians 
announced  the  approach  of  the  vessel. 
I  had  only  time  to  see  that  it  was  really 
an  armed  schooner,  when  I  was  secre 
ted  with  their  women,  about  forty  in 
number,  in  a  hut  near  the  shore,  and  the 
women  had  orders  to  watch  me  close, 
that  I  did  not  get  away. 

A  boat  at  this  time  from  the  schooner, 
was  seen  approaching  the  shore.  She 
landed  at  about  a  hundred  yards  dis 
tant  from  where  I  was  confined  ;  but  it 
being  near  night,  I  soon  found  she  was 
making  the  best  of  her  way  towards 
the  schooner.  Night  came,  and  I  was 


101 

sent  for  by  the  principal  chief,  and 
questioned  closely  concerning  the  schoo 
ner.  My  (ears  and  apprehensions  were 
now  excited  to  a  degree  beyond  human 
expression,  and  the  kind  reader  will 
pardon  all  attempts  to  express  them. 

The  natives  seeing  the  whites  so 
bold,  excited  in  them  a  fear  which  indu 
ced  them  to  flee  the  Island.  Accord 
ingly,  about  midnight,  the  canoes  were 
launched,  and  1  was  carried  to  a  remote 
part  of  the  Island,  a  distance  of  about 
40  miles,  where  1  remained  until  my 
fortunate  escape. 

29th.  Early  in  the  morning,  we  dis 
covered  a  boat  under  sail,  standing  di 
rectly  for  the  place  where  we  were  ; 
the  natives  were  considerably  agitated 
with  fear,  and  engaged  in  planning  some 
method  by  >vhieh  to  overcome  the  peov 
pie  in  the  boat,  if  they  should  come 
where  we  were  ;  and,  as  I  expected, 
the  natives  would  hide  me,  as  they  had 
heretofore  done,  I  thought  it  best-to  of 
fer  my  services  to  assist  them — I  said  I 
would  aid  them  in  righting  the  boat's 
10* 


J02 

crew — and  that,  as  I  could  talk  with 
them,  I  would  go  to  them,  in  advance 
of  the  natives,  deceive  the  crew,  and 
prevail  on  them  to  come  on  shore  and 
sit  down,  and  for  us  to  appear  friendly 
till  in  possession  of  their  arms,  then  rise 
upon  the  crew  and  kill  them  without 
difficulty  or  hazard.  Some  of  the  na 
lives  suspected  that  I  should  revolt  to 
the  other  party,  and  turn  the  current  of 
destruction  on  them  ;  but  the  chief  Lut- 
tuon  said  he  liked  my  plan  much,  and 
would  inquire  of  their  God,  and  if  he 
found  that  I  should  be  true  to  them,  my 
plan  should  be  adopted.  The  inquiry 
resulted  in  favor  of  my  plan,  and  they 
said  1  might  go.  The  boat  was  now 
within  one  hundred  rods  of  the  shore, 
and  Luttuon  called  me  to  him,  oiled 
my  head  and  body  with  cbcoanut  oil, 
and  gave  me  my  charge  how  to  con 
duct.  I  pledged  myself  to  obey  his  or 
ders.  My  joy  at  this  moment  was  great, 
as  the  boat  anchored  near  where  we 
were.  I  went  to  the  beach,  accompani 
ed  by  about  one  hundred  of  the  smart- 


103 

est  natives,  whom  I  charged  not  to  man 
ifest  a  hostile  appearance.  I  hailed  the 
boat  in  English,  and  told  the  crew  what 
the  calculations  of  the  natives  were,  and 
not  to  land  unless  they  were  well  arm 
ed.  The  officer  of  the  boat  replied  that 
he  would  be  among  them  directly  ;  and 
in  a  few  minutes  they  landed,  (13  men 
and  2  officers,)  and  when  within  a  rod 
of  us,  I  ran  to  Lieut.  H ,  Paulding,  who 
took  me  by  the  hand,  asked  if  I  was  one 
of  the  Globe's  crew,  and  inquired  my 
name,  £c.  &c.  We  then  retreated  to 
the  boat,  facing  the  natives,  who  all  kept 
their  seats,  excepting  the  one  I  called 
father,  who  came  down  among  us,  and 
took  hold  of  me  to  carry  me  back,  but 
desisted  on  having  a  pistol  presented  to 
his  breast. 

Lieut.  Hiram  Paulding,  of  the  Navy, 
for  such  was  the  name  of  this  gentleman 
ly  officer,  informed  me  that  the  vessel, 
was  the  U.  S.  Schooner  Dolphin,  sent 
on  purpose  to  rescue  us,  and  command 
ed  by  Lieut.  Com't.  John  Percival. 

After  expressing  my  gratitude  as  well 


104 

as  I  was  able,  to  Heaven,  which  had  fur 
nished  the  means  of  my  deliverance,  I 
acquainted  Mr.  Paulding,  that  the  only 
survivor  of  the  Globe,  except  myself, 
was  Cyrus  M,  Hussey  ;  who  was  held 
in  bondage  upon  a  neighbouring  Island. 
After  the  boat's  crew  had  taken  some 
refreshment,  we  left  the  landing  place, 
and  soon  arrived  at  the  y>lace  where 
Hussey  lived.  The  natives  had  con. 
cealed  him,  but  after  some  threatenings 
from  us,  restored  him,  and  we  were  re 
ceived  on  board  of  the  Dolphin,  and 
treated  in  the  most  kind  and  hospitable 
manner. 

Our  hair  was  now  cut,  and  we  were 
shaved.  Our  appearance  must  have 
been  truly  ludicrous,  our  hair  having 
been  growing  twenty-two  months,  un 
touched  by  the  razor  or  scissors. 

Our  joy  and  happiness  on  finding  our 
selves  on  board  an  American  Man-of- 
War,  and  seeing  "the  star  spangled  ban 
ner,"  once  more  floating  in  the  air,  we 
will  not  ati  empt  to  describe.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  none  can  form  a  true  esti- 


105 

mate  of  our  feelings,  except  it  be  those 
who  have  been  suddenly  and  unexpect 
edly  rescued  from  pain  and    peril,  and 
threatening   death.     In  the  afternoon 
the  Captain  wished  me  to  go  on  shore 
with  him,  as  an  interpreter.     We   ac 
cordingly  went,  and  passed  over  to  the 
village  on  the  other  side  of  the  Island, 
where  we  had  an  interview  with  a  wo 
man  of  distinction,  (the  men  having  fled, 
being  principally  absent  with  the  chiefs 
at  Alloo.)     The  capta  n  informed  her 
he  wished  to   see  the  chiefs,  and  re 
quested  her  to  send  for  them  that  night* 
that  he  might  visit  them  in  the  morning:, 
and  make  them   some  presents.     We 
then  returned  to  the  vessel  ;  and  the 
following  day,  Dec.  1st,  went  on  shore 
for  the  purpose  of  seeing  the  chiefs,  but 
could  not  obtain  an  interview  with  them. 
1  he  captain  informed  the  natives  that 
he   must  see  the  chiefs,   and  that  he 
would  wait  another  day,  but  if  disap 
pointed  then,  he  should  be  compelled 
to  use  coercive  means.     They  imme 
diately    sent  another  messenger  after 


106 

them,  and  we  returned  on  hoa^d,  acj 
companie  I  by  several  of  the  natives,  a- 
mong  vvMom  was  Ludjuan.  Tlie  capt 
ain  in  a  Je  mm  severa?  presents,  a-i-Mn- 
fornod  him  they  were  given  as  a  com 
pensation  for  saving  my  life.  Shortly 
-after,  the  natives  went  onshore. 

The  n^xt  morning,  Dec.  2d,  the  cap 
tain  sent  me  on  shore,  to  ascertain 
whether  the  chiefs  had  returned,  and  I 
was  intoniied  by  the  natives  that  they 
had,  and  were  then  at  a  house  half  a 
mJe  distant.  This  intelligence  having 
been  communicated  to  the  captain,  he 
went  OQ  shore,  and  took  myself  and 
Hussey  for  interpreters  ;  but  we  found 
on  our  arrival,  that  the  natives  had  been 
practising  a  piece  of  deception — the 
chiefs  not  having  returned.  Very  much 
displeased  at  this  perfidious  treatment^ 
the  captain  made  a  demand  of  the  chiefs 
before  sunset,  threatening,  if  it  were 
not  complied  with,  to  go  on  shore  with 
fifty  men,  well  armed,  and  destroy  eve 
ry  person  he  could  find.  This  threat 
threw  the  natives  into  consternation 


107 

and  immediately  another  messenger  was 
despatched  for  the  chiefs.  The  natives 
were  so  alarmed,  that  th^y  soon  sent  off 
three  or  four  more  messengers  ;  and 
we  returned  on  board  to  dine.  After 
dinner,  I  went  on  shore  with  Mr.  Pauld- 
ing,  the  first  Lieutenant,  and  some  of 
the  under  office*  s,  for  the  purpose  of 
shooting  birds.  After  rambling  round 
the  Island  for  some  time,  we  discovered 
a  number  of  natives  quickly  approach 
ing  us  from  the  lower  part  of  the  Island  5 
and  supposing  the  chiefs  were  with 
them,  we  sat  do\*n  to  await  their  arri 
val  ;  but  before  they  came  to  us,  a  sig 
nal  was  set  on  board  the  schooner,  for 
us  to  return,  which  was  immediately 
obeyed,  without  waiting  for  an  interview 
with  the  natives.  Early  on  the  next 
morning,  I  was  sent  ashore  to  ascertain 
whether  the  chiefs  had  arrived,  and  so««n 
found  that  they  had,  and  were  in  a  hut, 
waiting  to  receive  a  visit  from  the  capt 
ain,  who,  I  informed  them,  would  come 
on  shore  after  breakfast,  to  havp  a  talk 
with  them,  and  also  to  bestow  some 


103 

presents.  Accordingly,  the  captain, 
with  myself  and  Hussey,  repaired  to 
the  hut,  where  we  found  them  sitting, 
and  ready  to  commune  with  us. 

The  captain  told  them  he  had  been 
sent  out  by  the  Head  Chief  of  his  coun- 
t  y,  to  look  for  the  men  that  had  been 
left  there  by  the  ship  Globe — that  he 
had  been  informed  they  murdered  all 
but  two — that,   as  it  was  their  first  of 
fence  of  the  kind,  their  ignorance  would 
plead  an  excuse — but  if  they  should  ev 
er  kill  or  injure  another  white  man,  who 
was  from  any  vessel  or  wreck,  or  who 
might  be  left  among  them,  our  country 
would  send  a  naval  force,  and  extermin 
ate  every  soul  on  the  Island  ;  and  also 
destroy  their  fruit  trees,  provisions,  &c. 
and  that  if  they  would  always  treat  white 
men  kindly,  they  never  would  receive 
any  injury  from  them,  but  would  have 
their  kindness  and  hospitality  recipro 
cated.     He  also  adverted  to  the  prac 
tice  of  stealing,  lying,  and  other  immor 
alities  ;  stating  to  the  natives  that  these 
crimes  are  abhorred  and  punished  ip 


109 

our  country  ;  and  that  murder  is  pun 
ished  with  death.  He  then  sent  me  to 
the  boat,  lying  at  the  beach,  to  bring 
three  tomahawks,  one  axe,  a  bag  of 
beads,  and  a  number  of  cotton  hand 
kerchiefs,  which  were  presented  to  the 
chiefs.  He  also  gave  them  two  hogs, 
and  a  couple  of  cats,  with  injunctions 
not  to  destroy  them,  that  they  might 
multiply.  The  captain  caused  potatoes, 
corn,  pumpkins,  and  many  valuable 
seeds  to  be  planted,  and  gave  the  na 
tives  instructions  how  to  raise  and  pre 
serve  them.  He  then  explained  to  them 
that  these  acts  of  kindness  and  generos 
ity  were  extended,  because  they  saved 
us  alive,  and  had  taken  care  of  us  while 
among  them.  This  conversation  with 
the  natives  being  ended,  we  went  on 
board,  dined,  and  the  captain  and  Hus- 
sey  went  again  on  shore.  The  first 
Lieutenant  made  preparations  for  cruis 
ing  in  the  launch,  round  the  Island,  to 
make  topographical  surveys,  who  took 
me  with  him,  as  interpreter,  and  about 
4  o'clock,  we  cpmmenced  a  cruise  with 
11 


110 

a  design  to  sail  up  an  inlet  or  inland  sea ; 
but  the  wind  blowing  fresh,  and  having 
a  head  s^a,  at  12  o'clock  we  anchored 
for  the  night. 

Dec.  4th.  At  sunrise,  we  found  our 
selves  not  more  than  a  mile  from  the 
place  where  we  crossed  over  the  eve 
ning  befo/e  ;  and  immediately  getting 
under  weigh,  and  rowing  to  the  west- 
wai  d,  we  soon  came  to  the  place  where 
the  Globe's  station  had  been  ;  anchor 
ed,  and  went  on  shore,  for  the  purpose 
of  disinterring  the  bones  of  Comstock, 
"who  had  been  buried  there,  and  to  ob 
tain  a  cutlass,  which  was  buried  with 
him ;  but  before  we  had  accomplished 
the  undertaking,  the  scho9ner  got  un 
der  weigh,  and  soon  anchored  abreast 
of  us,  at  the  same  place  where  the 
Globe's  provisions  were  landed.  The 
captain  and  Hussey  immediately  came 
on  shore  to  view  the  place  ;  but  as  I 
caught  cold  the  preceding  night,  by  ly« 
ing  exposed  in  our  launch,  I  was  excu 
sed  from  serving  further  with  Mr.  Paul- 
cling  in  making  surveys,  and  Hussey 


Ill 

supplied  my  place.  Soon  after,  T  went 
on  uoard  vvitii  i  ie  captain,  carrying  with 
nie  the  skull  of  the  person  we  had  dug 
up,  and  the  cutlass,  intending  to  convey 
them  to  Am,  rica. 

After  dinner,  the  captain  made  a  trip 
in  the  gig,  to  Alloo,  taking  me  for  his 
interpreter,  where  we  arrived  in  half  an 
houi ,  and  soon  travelled  up  to  the  vil- 
lag  .  The  natives  received  us  with 
niu;ks  of  gladness,  and  in  a  short  time 
the  House  at  which  we  stopped  was  sur 
rounded  by  them,  who  came  undoubt 
edly  tor  the  purpose  of  gratifying  their 
curiosity,  by  gazing  at  us.  We  remain, 
ed  at  the  village  about  two  hours,  dur 
ing  which  time  we  had  considerable 
tai&  witii  two  of  the  chief  women,  and 
made  some  small  presents  to  the  peo 
ple,  such  as  beads,  &c.  They  did  not 
treat  us  as  they  usua'ly  do  visitors,  with 
fruit,  't,c.  there  being  at  that  time  what  we 
call  a  famine,  which  in  their  language, 
is  Ingathah. 

After  having  taken  leave  of  the  na 
tives,  and  walked  about  half  the  dis- 


tance  to  the  shore,  we  stopped  to  re 
fresh  ourselves  under  a  fine  cool  shade. 
While  in  conversation  on  the  manners 
and  customs  of  the  natives,  an  old  man 
and  woman  approached  us,  who  had  act 
ed  towards  me,  during  my  residence  a- 
mong  them,  as  father  and  mother.  I 
immediately  made  them  and  their  kind 
ness  to  me  known  to  the  captain,  who, 
in  consideration  of  their  humane  treat 
ment,  rewarded  them  with  a  few  beads 
and  a  handkerchief,  for  which  they  ap 
peared  thankful  and  grateful— telling 
them  at  the  same  time,  the  presents 
were  to  recompense  their  hospitality 
to  me,  and  enjoining  on  them  at  all 
times  to  be  friendly  to  the  whites,  and  a 
reward  would  certainly  a  wait  them.  It 
being  near  the  close  of  the  day,  we  left 
Alloo,  and  having  a  fair  wind,  reached 
the  schooner  before  dark. 

The  next  morning,  Dec.  5th,  being 
very  pleasant,  all  hands  were  employed 
in  procuring  wood  for  the  schooner- — 
some  in  cutting  it  down,  and  others  in 
boating  it  off'.  Our  carpenter  had  been 


113 

engaged  for  a  few  days,  at  Milly  ;  tt 
instruct  and  assist  the  natives  in  repair 
ing  a  canoe.  The  distance  was  four  or 
five  miles,  and  the  captain  wanting  the 
carpenter,  set  sail  for  Milly  in  his  gig, 
and  soon  arrived  there ;  where  he  learn 
ed  that  the  carpenter  had  repaired  the 
ca^oe,  to  the  great  satisfaction  of  the 
natives,  who  expressed  a  strong  desire 
that  he  might  be  permitted  to  remain  a- 
mong  them  on  the  Island  ;  hut  the  cap 
tain  informed  them  he  could  not  spare 
him.  When  the  natives  saw  the  car 
penter  packing  up  his  tools,  they  ex 
pressed  to  me  an  expectation  that  the 
tools  would  be  left  with  them  as  a  pres 
ent.  We  left  the  natives,  and  reached 
the  schooner  a  little  before  sunset;  the 
captain  feeling  anxious  for  the  fate  of 
the  launch,  as  nothing  yet  had  been 
heard  of  the  fortune  which  had  attended 
her,  or  the  men  in  her. 

Dec.  6th.     Having  procured  a  suffi- 
ei-nt  supply  of  wood,  though  our  sup 
ply  of  provisions  was  hardly  sufficient 
for  the  voyage,  and  the  launch  having 
11* 


114 

re  turned,  at  about  10  A.  M.  we  weigh 
ed*  anchor  and  proceeded  to  the  place 
called  Milly,  where  we  anchored  for  the 
purpose  of  planting  some  seeds,  and  ta 
king  a  last  farewell  of  the  chiefs  and 
their  people.  The  captain  went  imme 
diately  on  shore,  taking  Hussey  for  his 
interpreter.  He  was  gone  -till  nearly 
night,  when  he  returned,  bringing  with 
him  Luttuon  and  several  other  natives. 
The  captain  gave  orders  to  beat  to  quar 
ters,  to  exhibit  the  men  to  the  natives, 
and  explain  to  them  the  manner  of  our 
fighting.  Those  untutored  children  of 
nature,  seemed  highly  gratified  with  the 
manoeuvres,  but  were  most  delighted 
with  the  music,  probably  the  first  of  the 
kind  they  ever  heard.  We  informed 
them  we  always  have  such  music  when 
we  are  fighting  an  enemy.  The  natives 
were  then  landed,  and  we  immediately 
made  sail  for  the  head  of  the  Island,  in 
tending  to  cruise  around  the  other 
shores  of  it,  for  the  purpose  of  making 
surveys,  and  constructing  a  map  of  it. 
We  stood  eastward  till  nearly  morning. 


115 

then  altered  our  course  and  headed  to 
wards  the  Island. 

During  the  following  day,  Dec.  7th, 
having  favorable  winds  and  weather,  we 
made  a  regular  survey  of  the  whole 
length  of  the  groupe,  before  sunset. — 
The  captain  now  steered  N".  W.  to  en. 
deavour  to  discover  other  Islands  which 
the  natives  had  often  described  to  me, 
during  my  abode  with  them.  They 
said  they  had  Frequently  visited  ten  or 
twelve  different  Islands  in  their  canoes, 
and  that  the  people  who  inhabit  them, 
all  speak  the  same  language,  which  is 
the  same  as  their  own,  and  that  the  Isl 
ands  lie  about  one  day's  sail  from  each 
other. 

Dec.  8.  The  weather  pleasant  and 
fair  ;  about  9  o'clock,  A.  M.  we  saw 
land  ahead,  and  passed  it  on  the  wind 
ward  side,  then  varied  our  course  and 
sailed  to  the  leeward  of  the  Island  ;  but 
night  coming  on,  we  were  obliged  to  de 
fer  landing  till  morning.  The  captain 
then  attempted  to  reach  the  shore  in 
the  gig,  but  was^not  able  to  land,  on  ac- 


110 

eount  of  the  surf.  After  he  returned  on 
board,  we  made  sail,  cruisiag  farther  to 
the  leeward,  in  hopes  of  finding  a  place 
to  anchor,  but  in  this  we  were  disap 
pointed,  not  being  able  to  find  bottom 
thirty  yards  from  the  rocks.  Howev. 
er,  at  high  water,  the  captain,  at  immi 
nent  hazard  in  passing  the  surf,  succeed 
ed  in  landing.  He  had  previously  giv 
en  orders  to  me  and  Hussey,  not  to  let 
the  natives  know  that  we  could  converse 
\vuii,  or  understand  them,  but  to  be  at 
tentive  to  everything  that  might  pass  a- 
mong  them,  to  ascertain  whv  ther  their 
intentions  and  dispositions  were  hostile 
or  triendly.  After  landing,  the  captain 
and  Hussey  visited  the  house  where  the 
vhead  chief,  or  king  of  all  those  Islands 
livtd,  of  whom  I  had  formerly  heard  so 
much,  while  I  was  on  the  Mulgraves. — 
They  continued  with  him  about  two 
hours,  were  treated  well,  and  discover 
ing  nothing  unfriendly  in  the  natives, 
the  captain  toid  Hussey  he  might  make 
them  acquainted  with  his  knowledge  ot 
*heir  language,  by  conversing  with  tbenr. 


117 

The  king,  on  hearing  Hussey  speaking 
in  the  language  of  the  natives,  appeared 
at  first  so  frightened  and  agitated,  that 
he  could  scarcely  reply ;  but  by  degrees 
became  composed,  and  inquired  of  Hus 
sey  where  he  learned  their  language,  and 
why  he  had  not  spoken  to  them  imme 
diately  on  coming  ashore.    Hussey  then 
informed  him  he  was  one  of  the  two 
persons  that  had  been  on  the  Mulgraves, 
(in  their  language,  Milly,)  and  that  the 
other  person  (myself)  was  on  board  the 
schooner — that  the  schooner  had  been 
there  after  us,  that  we  left  the  Mul 
graves  the  day  before,  and  had  then  vis 
ited  that  Island  for  the  purpose  of  ex* 
amining  it,  &c.  &c.     The  king  had  long 
before  heard  of  our  being  at  the   Mul 
graves,  and  told  Hussey  he  had  been 
repairing  his  canoe,  in  order  to  go  to 
those  Islands,  with  a  view  to  induce  us 
to  live  with  him,  who,  had  that  been  the 
case,  would  undoubtedly  have  used  us 
well.     The  king  was  about  70  years  of 
age,  and  had  a  daughter  on  the  Island 
where  we  had  resided,  wife  to  Luttuon. 


118 

He  inquired  if  his  daughter  was  alive 
and  well,    with  tears   in  his  eyes  and 
trembling  form,  for  it  was  a  Ions  time 
since  he  had  received  any  intelligence 
of  her  ;  and  hearing  of  her  welfare  so 
unexpectedly,  quite  overcame  fhe  g  >od 
old   father's  feelings.      An  I   here  the 
reader  will  observe,  that  the  pure  and 
unaffected  emotions  produced   by  y>a- 
ren'al   affection,   are   similar  amons;  til 
the  human  species,  whether  civilized  or 
savage.     1  he  natives  of  the  Island  we 
were  then  visiting,  may  be  ranked  with 
those  that  have  made  the   fewest  ap 
proaches  towaids  the  refined  improve* 
nients  of  enlightened  nations,  vet  the 
ground  work  of  humaftity  was  discover, 
ed  to  be  the  same  ;  and  the  solicitude 
of  a  fond  father  for  a  beloved  chi'd,  was 
manifested  in  a  manner  which  would  not 
disgrace   those  who  move  in  the  most 
elevated  circles  of  civilized  life.     The 
old  king  expressed  his  regret  that  he 
had  not  visited  the  Mulgraves  during 
our  stay  there,  was  very  sorry  we  were 
about  to  return  to  America,  and  used 


119 

all  the  force  of  native  eloquence,  to 
persuade  us  to  continue  with  him.  He 
in*  1  lire d  it  we  had  ^ot  the  whale  boat  he 
had  heard  of  our  h  iving  at  the  Mill- 
graves.  Hussey  informed  hi*n  it  was 
OD  board  the  schooner,  and  the  swivel 
likewise.  The  captain  then  informed 
the  king  that  he  wanted  cncoanuts  and 
bup,  which  were  obtained  ;  and  in  re 
turn,  the  captain  gave  the  natives  some 
beads  and  handkerchiefs.  The  captain 
then  went  on  board  the  schooner,  made 
sail,  standing  a  N.  W.  course,  in  pur 
suit  of  aiiotiier  Island. 

Dec  9th.     About  10  o  "'clock  in  the 
forenoon,  we  discovered  land  ahead  and 
oft'  our  lee  bow.     About  2  o'clock,   P. 
M.  we  arrived  near  the  land,  hove  the 
schooner  to,  and  sent  two  boats  ashore, 
to  got  provisions.     At  sunset  the  boats 
returned,   loaded  with   cocoanuts   and 
jbup.     We  hoisted  up  our  boats,  and  with 
a  strong  breeze,  it  being  the  inclement 
season  of  the  year,  prosecuted  our  voy 
age  to  the  ^ajtdwicb  Islands,  &had  much 
boisterous  weather  during  the  passage. 


120 

On  Jaiu  8th,  1826,  we  expected  to 
make  one  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  cal 
led  Bird^s  Island,  but  night  came  on  be 
fore  we  discovered  it.    But  early  on  the 
following  morning,  we  saw  land  about 
four  leagues  to  the  leeward,  and    bore 
down  to  the  Island  for  the  purpose  of 
sending  a  boat  ashore,  to  kill  seals. — 
We    arrived   near  the   landing   place, 
hove  to,  and  the  captain  with  six  men 
went  ashore  in  the   whale  boat.     We 
now  stood  off  from  the  shore  for  about 
an  hour,  then  tacked  and  stood  in,  for 
the  boat  to  come  off.     The  wind    had 
increased  to  almost  a  gale,  and  continu 
ing  to  blow  harder,  when  we  were  with 
in  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  Island,,  not 
discovering  any  thing  of  the  boat,  we 
veered  off  again,  and  continued  tacking 
till  night  came  on,  but  saw  nothing  of 
the  boat  or  her  crew.      About  9  or  10 
o'clock,  the  wind  abated,  and  we  found 
ourselves  two  leagues  to  the  leeward  of 
the  Island,  where  we  lay  to  all  night  un 
der  easy  sail,  anxiously  waiting  for  the 
approach  of  morning,  in  hopes  then  to 


'121 

learn  the  fate  of  the  captain  and  men 
who  had  gone  on  shore.  At  length  the 
horizon  was  lighted  by  the  dawft  of  day* 
which  was  succeeded  by  the  opening 
of  a  very  pleasant  morning.  We  imme 
diately  made  all  sail  for  the  Island,  but 
having  a  head  wind,  we  did  hot  arrive 
at  the  landing  till  near  the  middle  of  the 
day.  A  boat  was  sent  on  shore  to  learn 
what  had  befallen  the  crew  of  the  whale 
boat,  and  shortly  returned  with  all  the 
men  except  the  captain  and  one  man 
that  could  not  swim  We  ascertained,, 
that  in  attempting  to  come  off  through 
the  surf,  they  were  swamped  and  lost 
their  boat.  We  a  second  time  sent  the 
boat  ashore  with  means  to  get  the  capt 
ain  and  other  man,  who  were  soon 
brought  on  board.  We  now  made  sail 
and  steered  our  course  for  Woahoo,  one 
of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  nothing 
very  material  occurring  on  our  passage, 
we  anchored  in  tke  harbour  of  that  Isl 
and  on  the  14th.  On  the  16th  procured 
a  supply  of  fresh  provisions.  On  the 
19th,  Hussey  and  myself  went  on  shore 
IB 


122 

for  the  purpose  of  rambling  round  the 
Island,  but  nothing  occurred  worthy  of 
notice. 

Our  foremast  being  found  rotten  a  few 
feet  below  the  top,  it  was  deemed  ne 
cessary  to  take  it  out  for  repairs,  which 
required  the  daily  employment  of  the 
carpenter  and  others  for  some  time. — 
On  the  27th,  the  captain  received  a  let 
ter,  giving  intelligence  that  the  ship 
London  had  been  driven  ashore  at  an 
Island  not  far  distant  from  Woahoo. — 
As  the  Dolphin's  foremast  was  out,  the 
captain  was  under  the  necessity  of  pres 
sing  the  brig  Convoy,  of  Boston,  and 
putting  on  board  of  her  about  90  of  his 
own  men,  taking  with  him  2  of  his  lieu 
tenants  and  some  under  officers,  he  sail 
ed  to  the  assistance  of  the  ship  London. 

Feb.  3d,  the  brig  Convoy  returned  la 
den  with  a  part  of  the  cargo  of  the  Lon 
don,  and  the  specie  \*  hich  was  in  her  at 
the  time  of  her  going  ashore,  under  the 
command  of  our  2dlieutenant,leavingthe 
remainder  of  her  cargo  in  another  vessel* 
ufcder  the  command  of  capt.  PercivaU 


123 

Feb.  5th.  The  captain  returned  with 
the  residue  of  the  London's  cargo,  and 
the  officers  and  crew  of  that  ship.  Af 
ter  the  cargo  of  the  London  had  been 
secured,  we  were  employed  in  finishing 
the  repairs  on  our  foremast,  which  were 
completed  on  the  2 1st ;  and  we  commen 
ced  rigging. 

Feb.  26th.  On  the  morning  of  this 
day,  permission  was  granted  to  a  num 
ber  of  our  crew,  to  go  on  shore.  In  the 
afternoon,  Hussey  and  myself  went  and 
took  a  walk.  About  4  or  5  o'clock,  I 
observed  a  great  collection  of  natives, 
and  on  inquiring  the  reason,  learned 
that  several  of  the  Dolphin's  crew,  join 
ed  by  some  from  other  shr  s  lying  in 
port,  had  made  an  assault  upon  Mr. 
Bhigham,  the  missionary,  in  conse* 
quence  of  ill  will  towards  that  gentle 
man,  strongly  felt  by  some  of  the  sail 
ors,  but  for  what  particular  reason,  I 
did  not  distinctly  ascertain.  They  car 
ried  their  revenge  so  far,  that  they  not 
only  inflicted  blows  upon  Mr.  Binghain, 
but  attacked  the  house  of  a  chie£  The 


124 

Datives,  some  with  cutlasses,  and  others 
with  i;uns,  repelled  the  unjustifiable  at 
tack  ;  and  during  the  affray,  several  of 
our  men  were  slightly  injured,  and  one 
badly  wounded,  whose  life  was  despair 
ed  of  for  some  time.  The  offenders 
were  arrested,  sent  on  board,  and  put 
in  irons* 

On,,  the  next  day,  27th,  Mr,  Bingham 
earne  on  board  with  the  captain  and  wit 
nesses  against  the  men  engaged  the 
preceding  day,  in  the  assault  on  shore0 
After  a  fair  examination  of  evidence  in 
the  case,  the  aggressors  were  properly 
punished,  and  orderedJ;o  their  duty. — 
The  whale  ships  now  began  to  arrive 
lor  the  purpose  of  recruiting,  and  for 
Some  particular  reasons,  several  of  the 
captains  ot  those  ships  requested  capt 
ain  Percival  to  remain  at  the  Island  as  a 
protection  to  them,  till  they  could  ob 
tain  the  necessary  supplies,  and  resume 
their  cruises.  From  the  present  date3 
nothing  of  importance  occurred  that 
would  be  interesting  to  readers,  till  A- 
pr.il  3d,  when  great,  preparations  were 


125 

made  on  board  the  Dolphin,  to  give  a 
splendid   entertainment  to  the  young 
king.     The  gig  and  second  cutter  were 
employed  in  the  morning,  to  borrow 
signals  from  the  different  ships  in  the 
harbour,    in    order    to   dress   out  the 
schooner  in  a  fanciful  style.     About  1 1 
o'clock,  the  gig  and  second  cutter  were 
sent  ashore  for  the  king  and  several 
chiefs  and  natives  of  distinction,  who 
were  soon  conveyed  on  board.     The 
yards  were  manned,  and  a  general  sa 
lute  fired.     After  partaking  of  as  good 
a  dinner  as  our  resources  and  the  means 
within  our  reach  would  afford,  the  king 
and  his  attendants  were  disembarked 
under  the  honour  of  another  salute. — 
During  the  remainder  of  this  month,  the 
et'enttf  which  transpired,  were  princi 
pally  of  an  ordinary  cast,  and  not  thought 
worthy  of  record. 

May  3d.  This  day  we  were  employ 
ed  in  bending  sails  ;  and  from  this  date 
to  the  llth,  the  necessary  preparations 
wero  made  to  commence  our  home  ward 
voyage.  This  day  (llth,)  the  pilot 
12* 


126 

came  on  board,  and  for  the  last  time  we 
weighed  our  anchors  in  the  harbour  of 
Woahoo.  While  retiring  from  the  shore 
we  were  saluted  with  21  guns  from  the 
fort.  We  hove  about,  returned  the  sa~ 
lute,  and  then  resumed  our  destined 
course,  and  bid  a  last  adieu  to  Woahoo, 
after  a  tedious  and  protracted  stay  of  a-; 
bput  four  months. 

From  the  time  of  our  departure,  on 
the  llth  of  May,  from  Woahoo,  nothing 
of  importance  transpired  till  the  12th  of 
June.  On  the  morning  of  this  day  we 
discovered  the  Island  Toobowy  ;  and 
at  9  o'clock  saw  a  sail,  which  proved  to 
be  a  whale  ship.  At  half  past  2  came 
to  anchor  at  a  convenient  place  near 
the  Island,  and  sent  a  boat  ashore, 
which  returned  at  night  with  two  na 
tives,  who  gave  us  a  description  of  the 
harbour,  and  directions  how  to  enter  it ;  _ 
and  as  our  mainmast  was  injured,  we  en 
tered  it  to  make  the  necessary  repairs. 
On  the  13th,  we  beat  up  the  harbour, 
and  at  3  o'clock  anchored,  where  we 
$QHtiniied  repairing  our  mast,  and  pro- 


127 

curing  wood  and  water,  till  the  22'd  ; 
when  we  weighed  anchor  and  made  sail 
for  Valparaiso,  favoured  withfine  weath 
er  and  good  winds.     July   18th,  made 
the  Island  of  Massafue'ro,  and  passed  it 
about  midnight.      On  the  1 9th,  in  the 
forenoon,  made  the  Island  of  Juanfer- 
nandez  ;  and  at  11  P.  M.    on  the  fol 
lowing  day,  discovered  the  land  at  the 
south  of  Valparaiso.     On  the  22d,  beat 
up  the  harbour,  and  at  2  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  23d,  came  to  anchor. — - 
At  Valparaiso,  we  learned  that  the  frig 
ate  United  States  was  at  Callao  ;  and 
after  getting  a  supply  of  provisions,  we 
sailed  for  Cailao  on  the  9th  of  August, 
and  arrived   on  the  24th.      Here  we 
fo  md  the  United  States,  lying  under  the 
Island  of  Lorenzo,  with  several  English 
ships  of  war. 

On  the  26th,  the  Dolphin  in  company 
with  the  United  States,  passed  over  to 
Callao;  and  Sept.  1st,  I  and  the  crew 
of  the  Dolphin  were  transferred  to  the 
United  States. 

sSept.  10th,    All  the  men  that  had 


been  transferred  from  the  Dolphin  to 
the  United  States,  had  liberty  to  go  to 
Lima  ;  at  12  o'clock  we  went  on  shore, 
and  at  4  P.  M.  entered  the  gates  of  the 
city.  I  employed  my  time  while  on 
shore,  in  roving  about  the  city,  and 
viewing  the  various  objects  it  presents  ; 
and  on  the  13th  returned  on  board  the 
United  States.  \\  e  were  detained  here 
till  the  16th  of  December,  when  we  sail 
ed  for  Valparaiso,  and  having  a  pleas 
ant  passage,  arrived  on  the  6th  of  Janu^ 
ary,  where  we  were  happy  to  find,  for 
our  relief,  the  Brandy  wine.  From  the 
Sth  to  the  24th,  all  hands  were  engaged 
in  preparing  the  ship  for  her  homeward 
voj  age ;  when  at  9  o'clock  we  weighed 
our  larboard  anchor,  and  at  1  P.  M.  were 
under  sail,  passing  out  of  the  harbour, 
when  the  Cambridge,  (an  English  74r) 
then  tying  in  the  harbour,  gave  us  3 
cheers,  which  we  returned  with  3  times 
3  ;  she  then  saluted  us  with  13  gun^ 
wiiich  we  returned  with  the  same  num 
ber,  aud  taen  proceeded  to  sea. 

Beiag  iavoured  with  line  weather  ami 


129 

good  winds,  we  had  a  prosperous  voy 
age  to  Cape  Horn,  and  arrived  off  the 
pitch  on  the  7th  of  Feb.    and  passed 
round  with  a  pleasant  breeze.     In  pros 
ecuting  our  voyage  home,  off'  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  along 
the  coast  of  Brazil,  we  had  rough  weath 
er  and  thick  fogs.     On  the  6th  we  made 
the  land  and  harbour  of  St.  Salvador, 
and  about  9  o'clock  came,  to  anchor. — • 
On  the  7th  we  fired  a  salute  for  the  fort,  . 
which  was  returned, 

We  were  now  employed  in  watering- 
our  ship,  and  making  other  preparations ^ 
for  continuing  our  voyage  homeward  ; 
and  on  the  15th  got  under  weigh,  with 
a  fine  breeze. 

April  1st.  At  10  o'clock,  made  the 
Island  of  Barbadoes,  and  at  1  P,  M;. 
catne  to  anchor,  where  we  lay  till  5  P, 
IVi.  on  the  3d,  when  we  got  under  weigh, 
and  sailed  down  the  Island  to  St.  Thorn-, 
as,  where  we  sent  a  boat  ashore,  and 
after  transacting  the  business  for  which 
we  stopped,  made  sail  on  the  9th  for 
the  port  of  JSew-¥ork.  On  the  21st, 


130 

made  the  highland  of  IVeversink  ;  at  % 
P.  M.  took  a  pilot  on  board,  but  owing 
to  fogs  and  calms,  did  not  arrive  to  the 
port  of  destination  till  1  P.  M.  next  day, 
when  we  anchored  opposite  the  West 
Battery,  with  a  thankful  heart  that  I  was 
once  more  within  the  United  States. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

I  will  now  proceed  to  give  the  reader 
some  account  of  the  Islands  1  visited, 
and  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
natives,  and  shall  endeavour  to  be  as 
candid  and  correct  as  possible. 

The  M  ilgrave  Islands  are  situated 
between  5  and  6  degrees  north  latitude, 
and  between  170  and  174  degrees  of 
east  longitude.  They  are  about  50 
miles  in  length,  and  lie  in  the  form  of  a 
semi-circle,  forming  a  kind  of  inland  sea 
or  lake  ;  the  distance  across  it  being  a- 
bout  20  miles.  The  land  is  narrow* 
and  the  widest  place  is  probably  not 


131 

more  than  half  a  mile.     On  the  north 
side  of  the  group  are  several  inlets  or 
passages,  of  sufficient  depth  to   admit 
the  free  navigation  of  the  largest  ships  ; 
and    if    explosed,   excellent   harbours 
would   in  all  probability  be  found.     In 
the  inland   sea  are  numerous  beds  of 
coral,  which  appear  to  be  constantly 
forming  and  increasing.     These   c  mil 
beds  art;  seen  at  low  water,  but  are  all 
overflowed  at  high  tide.     The   whole 
group  is  entirely  destitute  of  mountains, 
and  even  hills,  the  highest  land  not  be 
ing  more  than  six  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea  at  high  water.     By  the  ac 
counts  given  me  from  the  natives,  it  ap 
pears  that  some  parts  have  been  over 
flowed  by  the  sea.     Their  being  so  low, 
makes  the  navigation  near  them  very 
dangerous  in  the  night,   both  because 
they  would  not  be  easily  seen,  and  be 
cause  the  water  is  very  deep  quite  to 
the  shores  ;  and  a   place  for  anchoring 
can  scarcely  be  found  on  the  outside  of 
the  Island. 
The  air  of  these  Islands  is  pure,  and 


132 

the  climate  hot ;  but  the  heat  is  render 
ed  less  oppressive  by  the  trade  winds, 
which  blow  constantly,  and  keep  the  at 
mosphere  heathful  and  salubrious  for  so 
low  a  latitude. 

The  soil,  in  general,  is  productive  of 
little  besides  trees  and  shrubs,  and  most 
of  it  is  covered  with  rough  coral  stones. 

The  productions  are  breadfruit  in  its 
.proper  season,   and  cocoanuts,   which 
they   have  throughout  the  year;  and  a 
kind    of  fruit  different  from  any   that 
grows  in  America,  which  the  natives 
call   Bup — all   growing  spoi»taneously0 
Of  the  leaves  of  the  trees  the  women 
manufacture,  very  elegant  mats,  which 
they  wear  as  blankets  and  clothing  ;  of 
the  bark  of  a  vine   they  make  men's 
clothing  ;  and  of  the  husks  of  the  cocoa 
they  make  ropes  and  rigging  for  their 
canoes,  and  for  almost  every  other  pur- 
poseo     The  waters  round  the  Islands 
abound  with  fish,  and  the  natives  are 
very  expert  in  catching  them. 

There  are  no  animals  on  the  Islands, 
excepting  rats ;  and  by  these  little 


133 
quadrupeds  they  are  literally  overrun. 

The  number  of  all  the  inhabitants, 
men,  women,  and  children,  is  probably 
between  five  and  six  hundred. 

The  following  may  be  given  as  prom 
inent  characteristics  of  the  natives.—' 
They  are  in   general,  well  made  and 
handsome — very  indolent  and  supersti 
tious.     They  are   morose,  treacherous, 
ferociously  passionate,  and  unfriendly  to 
all  other  natives.     When  they  are  not 
fishing,  or  otherwise  employed,  they  are 
generally  travelling  about,  and  visiting 
each  other.     They  have  no  salutations 
when  they  meet,  but  sit  down  without 
exchanging  a  word  of  civility  for  some 
minutes  ;  but  after  a  silent  pause,  the 
head  of  the  family,  if  there  is  any  thing 
in  the  house  to  eat,  presents  it  to  his 
guests,  who,  when  they  have  eaten  suf 
ficiently,  if  there  are  way  fragments  left, 
are  very  careful  to  secure  them  and  car. 
ry  them   off  when  they  return  home  ; 
and  the  host  would  regard  it  as  an  im 
position,  it  his  visitors  were  to  neglect 
this  important  trait  of  politeness,  and 
13 


134 

fashionable  item  in  etiquette.  They 
accustom  themselves  to  frequent  bath 
ing  ;  and  commence  with  their  children 
on  the  day  of  their  birth,  and  continue 
the  practice  twice  a  day,  regularly,  till 
they  are  two  years  old.  They  do  this 
to  invigorate  the  system,  and  render  the 
skin  of  their  children  thick  and  tough  by 
exposure.  Their  living  consists  sim 
ply  of  breadfruit,  cocoanuts,  and  bup; 
but  cocoanuts  are  all  they  can  depend 
on  the  year  round  — the  two  other  articles 
being  common  only  a  part  of  the  year; 

Their  diversions  consist  in  singing, 
dancing,  and  beating  time  with  their 
arms,  in  a  manner  similar  to  the  amuse 
ments  of  the  natives  at  the  Sandwich 
Islands ;  in  which  they  appear  to  take 
great  delight. 

They  wear  their  hair  long,  and  tie  it 
up  in  a  kind  of  bow  on  the  top  of  the 
head,  and  this  is  all  the  covering  they 
have  for  their  heads.  The  men  have  t 
long  beards.  One  part  of  their  dress 
makes  a  singular  and  ludicrous  appear 
ance,  which  resembles  two  horse  tails 


135 

suspended  from  the  waist,  one  before 
and  the  other  behind.  The  women's 
dress  consists  of  two  mats,  about  the 
size  of  a  small  pocket-handkerchief, 
which  they  tie  round  them  like  an  apron. 

I  never  saw  any  form  of  marriage  a- 
mong  them,  but  when  a  couple  are  de 
sirous  of  being  united,  their  parents  have 
a  talk  together  on  the  subject,  and  if  the 
parties  all  agree  to  the  union,  the  cou 
ple  commence  living  together  as  man 
and  wife  ;  and  I  never  knew  of  an  in 
stance  of  separation  between  them  af 
ter  they  had  any  family.  In  a  few  in 
stances  polygamy  prevailed. 

The  following  will  give  a  pretty  cor 
rect  idea  of  their  funeral  rites  and  so* 
lemnities : 

When  a  person  dies,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  village  assemble  together,  and 
commence  drumming  and  singing,  hal 
loing  and  yelling  ;  and  continue  their 
boisterous  lamentations  for  about  48 
hours,  day  and  night,  relieving  each 
other  as  they  require.  This  they  do, 
because  they  imagine  it  is  diverting  to 


the  person  deceased,  They  bury  the 
body  at  a  particular  place  back  of  their 
houses,  and  use  mats  for  a  coffin.  After 
the  ceremony  of  interment  is  perform 
ed,  they  plant  two  cocoanut  trees,  one 
at  the  head  and  the  other  at  the  feet  of 
the  buried  person.  But  if  the  trees  ev 
er  bear  fruit,  the  women  are  prohibited 
from  eating  thereof,  for  fear  of  displeas 
ing  the  bad  spirit,  dnit.  And  here  it 
may  not  be  inappropriate  to  remind  the 
reader  that  Eve  ate  of  the  forbidden 
fruit,  notwithstanding  she  knew  it  would 
displease  the  Goon  SPIRIT. 

In  their  personal  appearance,  the  na 
tives  are  about  the  middle  size*  with 
broad  faces,  flat  noses,  black  hair  and 
eyes,  and  large  mouths. 

In  relation  to  literature,  they  are  as 
ignorant  as  it  is  possible  for  people  to 
be,  having  not  the  most  distant  idea  of 
letters. 

Concerning  the  religion  of  the  un 
taught  natives  of  the  Mulgraves,  the  fol 
lowing  remarks  will  give  all  the  knowl 
edge  I  am  in  possession  ot : 


137 

They  believe  there  is  an  invisible 
spirit  that  rules  and  governs  all  events, 
and  that  he  is  the  cause  of  all  their  sick 
ness  and  distress  ; — consequently  they 
consider  him  to  be  a  very  bad  being. — 
But  they  have  no  belief  in  a  good  spirit, 
nor  have  they  any  modes  of  worship. — 
It  is  a  prevalent  opinion  among  them, 
when  any  are  sick,  that  the  bad  spirit 
rests  upon  them  ;  and  they  believe  that 
particular  manoeuvres  and  a  form  of 
words,  performed  round  and  said  over 
the  sick,  will  induce  Jimi,  the  bad  spirit, 
to  cease  from  afflicting,  and  leave  the 
unfortunate  sufferers.  With  regard  to  a 
future  state  of  existence,  they  believe  that 
the  shadow,  or  what  survives  the  body, 
is,  after  death,  entirely  happy  ;  that  it 
roves  about  at  pleasure,  and  takes  much 
delight  in  beholding  everything  that  is 
transacted  in  this  world  ; — and  as  they 
consider  the  world  as  an  extensive  plain, 
they  suppose  the  disembodied  spirits 
travel  quite  to  the  edge  of  the  skies, 
where  they  think  white  people  live,  and 
then  back  again  to  their  native  Isles ; 
13* 


138 

and  at  times  they  fancy  they  can  hear 
the  spirits  of  departed  friends  whistling 
round  their  houses,  and  noticing  all  the 
transactions  of  the  living.  Singular  as 
some  of  these  notions  and  opinions  may 
appear,  there  is  much  to  be  met  with 
in  Christendom  equally  at  variance  with 
reason  ;  and  I  have  heard  from  the  pul 
pit,  in  New- England,  the  following  lan 
guage  :  "  I  have  no  doubt  in  my  own 
mind  that  the  blessed  in  Heaven  look 
down  on  all  the  friends  and  scenes  they 
left  behind,  and  are  fully  sensible  of  all 
things  that  take  place  on  earth !" 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THIS  chapter,  and  the  concluding  re 
marks  of  the  narrative,  will  be  collated 
from  a  Journal  kept  by  Cyrus  M.  Hus- 
sey  ;  and  if  there  appear  occasionally 
some  incidents  similar  to  those  record 
ed  in  the  preceding  account,  it  is  be 
lieved  the  value  and  interest  of  this  his- 


139 

tory  will  not  be  diminished  by  them.— 
Hussey  commences  thus  : 

About  the  last  of  April,  myself  and 
Lay  were  separated,  destined  to  differ 
ent  Islands,  not  knowing  whether 
should  ever  see  each  other  again. 
night  we  arrived  at  an  Island,  and  hault 
ed  up  our  canoe.  We  found  but  few 
natives,  but  among  the  number  was  tha 
mother  of  the  chief  with  whom  I  lived. 
She  was  very  inquisitive  respecting  me, 
and  talked  so  incessantly  through  the 
night  that  I  could  not  sleep.  The  next 
morning  we  were  employed  in  gather 
ing  breadfruit,  for  the  purpose  of  curing 
it  for  the  winter.  This  employment 
continued  about  three  months,  during 
which  time  I  was  very  uneasy  about  my 
situation.  At  intervals  of  leisure,  when 
the  old  chief  had  no  particular  engage 
ments  to  engross  his  attention,  he  would 
launch  his  canoe  and  go  and  search  for 
fish  ;  but  my  shoes  having  been  taken 
froia  me,  whenever  1  was  employed 
round  the  rouga  shores  of  the  Island, 
my  feet  were  so  wounded  that  I  could 


140 

hardly  walk;  The  natives  now 
me  need  the  destruction  of  my  clothing, 
and  not  being  able  to  converse  with 
them,  I  found  it  very  difficult  to  pre 
serve  my  apparel.  They  often  reques 
ted  me  to  divest  myself  of  my  clothing, 
and  dress  as  they  did,  or  rather  not  dress 
at  all.  I  made  signs  that  the  sun  would 
burn  me,  if  I  should  expose  myself  to 
its  scorching  rays.  When  they  found 
that  persuasion  would  not  induce  me  to 
divest  myself  of  clothing,  they  began  to 
destroy  my  clothes,  by  tearing  them  in 
pieces.  It  was  some  time  before  I  could 
understand  their  language,  so  as  to  in> 
form  them  that  the  sun  would  burn  my 
back  ;  and  being  robbed  of  my  clothes, 
the  powerful  influence  of  the  sun  soon 
scorched  me  to  such  a  degree  that  I 
could  scarcely  lie  down  or  take  any  rest. 
About  the  latter  part  of  July,  William 
&ay  and  others  came  to  the  Island  in  a 
canoe,  to  see  me,  being  the  first  inter 
view  we  had  enjoyed  since  our  separa 
tion,  which  was  about  three  months  pre 
vious.  Lay  informed  me  that  the  na- 


141 

tives  had  taken  his  bible  from  him  and 
torn  it  up,  and  threatened  his  life.     He 
informed  me  that  it  seemed  to  him  as 
though  he  was  robbed  of  that  comfort 
which  none  in  a  Christian  land  are  de 
prived  of.     We  were  soon  parted  ;  he 
in  a  canoe  was  taken  to  an  Wand  by  the 
natives  called  Dilabu,  and  I  w«jnt  to  my 
employment,    repairing  a  canoe  which 
was  on  the  stocks.     After  I  had  finished 
the  canoe,  the  natives  prepared  a  quan 
tity  of  bread  fruit  and  fish  for  the  chiefs, 
and  on  the  following  morning  we  set  sail 
for  an  Island  called  Milly^  one  of  the 
largest  in  the  group,  at  which  resides 
the  principal  chief.     We  arrived  just  a£ 
night  and  were  cordial'y  received  by 
the  natives,  who  had  assembled  on  the 
beach  in  great  numbers,  for  the  purpose 
ot  getting  somo  fish  which  the  old  chief 
had  brought  with  him.     He  then  hauled 
his  canoe  on  <?hore  ;  and  I  had  again  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  my  fellow  sufferer, 
William  Lay,  after  a  month's  separation, 
Since  our  first  meeting  we  were  not  al 
lowed  to  converse  much  together, 


142 

The  "old  chief  tarried  at  this  Inland 
but  a  short  ti-ne,  and  Lay  and  myself 
were  once  more  separated.  The  old 
chief,  his  family,  and  myself,  returned 
to  the  Island  whicii  wu  had  left  two  or 
three  days  before,  called,  in  the  lan 
guage  of  the  natives,  Tabarawort  ;  and 
he  ancthis  family  commenced  gathering 
bread  fruit.  As  the  old  man  wij  h  whom 
I  lived  had  charge  of  several  small  Isl 
ands,  we  found  it  difficult  to  gather  the 
fruit  as  fast  as  it  ripened,  so  that  a  con 
siderable  part  fell  to  the  ground  and 
perished.  In  the  mean  time,  while  we 
were  employed  in  gathering  in  the  fruits 
of  the  earth,  news  came  to  the  Island, 

to  iUiGFiii  tue  chief  with  whom  I  lived, 


that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  highest 
chiefs  to  destroy  us  both,  (that  is  my 
self  and  Lay,)  because  a  severe  sickness 
prevailed  among  them,  and  they  being 
superstitious,  supposed  we  were  the  oc 
casion  of  it.  I  informed  them  that  loe 
could  not  have  been  the  cause  of  the 
sickness,  as  no  such  sickness  prevailed 
in,  our  country,  and  that  I  never  before 


143 

had  seen  a  similar  disease.  But  still 
they  talked  verv  hard  about  us;  and 
the  highest  chief  sent  to  the  chief  I  liv- 
>ed  with,  to  have  me  brought  to  the  Isl 
and  of  Milly,  where  Lay  lived,  in  order 
that  we  might  be  killed  together.  Prep 
arations  having  been  made,  the  old 
chief,  whom  I  called  father,  with  his 
family  and  myself,  set  sail  the  next  mor 
ning  for  Milly,  where  we  arrived  about 
sun  set.  He  immediately  went  to  see 
the  chief  of  Milly,  to  inquire  the  cir 
cumstances  relating  to  the  necessity  of 
taking  our  lives,  leaving  me  and  the  rest 
of  the  family  in  the  canoe.  I  shortly 
perceived  William  Lay  and  his  master 
coming  towards  the  canoe,  which  pro 
duced  sensations  hard  to  be  described. 
Affecti  mate  and  sympathizing  reader, 
what  must  have  been  our  feelings  and 
conversation  at  that  mom  '»t,  when 
nothing  seemingly  was  presented  to  our 
view  but  death  ?  We  were  allowed  an 
interview  of  only  a  few  minutes,  when 
we  were  again  separated. 

My  master  soon  returned  to  the  ca- 


144 

noe,  and  entered  into  very  earnest  con 
versation  with  his  family,  which,  at  the 
time,  I  did  not  fully  understand  ;  but 
found  afterwards  it  was  a  relation  to  his 
family  of  his  interview  with  the  natives 
on  the  subject  of  taking  our  lives  ;  and 
that  if  they  killed  me,  th-?y  would  first 
have  to  kill  him,  (my   master,)   which 
they  were  unwilling  to  do.     My  kind 
old  master  told  them  he  had  preserved 
me,  and  alwaysjshould.  Night  now  com 
ing  on,  I  lay  down'to  sleep,  but  fear  had 
taken  such  possession  of  my  mind,  that 
the  night  was  spent  in  wakeful  anxiety. 
The  next  morning  I  asked  leave  of 
my  master  to  visit  Lay,  which  he  readi 
ly  gave.     1  set  out  for  the  hut  in  com 
pany  with  my  master's  son  ;  hut  on  ap 
proaching  it,  Lay  called  out  to    me,  to 
inform  me  that  I  must  not  come — that 
the  natives  did  not  like  to  have  us  to 
gether.     On  my  turning  to  go  back, 
Lay's  master  called  to  me  to  come.     I 
went  and  sat  down,  and    entered  into 
conversation    with    Lay,  to   ascertain 
what  the  intention  of  the  natives  to- 


145 

wards  us  were.  He  told  me  it  was  the 
design  of  the  high  chief  to  kill  us.  I  ob- 
\served  to  him,  that  we  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  natives  ;  still  there  was  a  higher 
and  more  powerful  Hand  that  could  pro 
tect  us,  if  it  were  the  Divine  pleasure  so 
to  do.  I  then  bade  him  farewell,  and  re 
turned  to  the  canoe,  never  expecting  to 
see  each  other  again  till  we  should  meet 
on  the  tranquil  ocean  of  eternity, 

My  master  being  now  ready  to  return 
to  his  Island,  the  canoe  was  launched/ 
and  we  set  sail,  and  arrived  the  same 
night,  having  been  absent  two  days, — 
The  natives  expressed  much  joy  on  see- 
i|ig  me  return,  and  asked  many  ques 
tions  respecting  the  chief  of  Milly ;  but 
as  I  was  unable  to  speak  their  language 
intelligibly,  I  could  give  them  but  little 
information.  We  then  went  on  with 
our  work  as  usual,  which  was  fishing, 
&c.  &c. 

After  having  been  at  this  Island  some 

time,  my  master's  wife  manifested  an 

inclination  to  go  and  visit  her  friends, 

who  lived  at  an  Island  called  in  their 

14 


146 

language  JLuguoneivort.  After  a  suc 
cessful  excursion  iu  fishing,  we  cooked 
a  part,  and  took  some  breadfruit,  and 
embarked,  agreeably  to  the  wishes  of 
my  master's  wife,  and  arrived  at  Lugu- 
onewort  in  two  days.  The  natives  of 
that  Island  gave  us  a  cordial  reception; 
We  hauled  up  our  canoe  and  remained 
some  time  among  them.  After  our  a- 
greeable  visit  was  ended^  we  returned 
to  the  other  Island,  found  the  natives 
well,  and  that  good  care  had  been  taken 
by  the  chief's  mother,  an  old  woman  to 
whom  the  superintendence  of  things 
had  been  left. 

About  six  months  after  the  massacre 
of  my  shipmates,  the  brother  of  the  na 
tive  in  whose  possession  I  was,  came  to 
the  Island,  and  informed  us  that  a  ship 
had  been  seen  to  pass  a  day  or  two  be 
fore,  and  that  it  caused  great  distur 
bance  among  the  chiefs — that  they 
thought  it  was  the  ship  that  left  the  Isl 
ands,  (the  Globe,)  and  that  she  was  in 
search  of  us.  My  old  master  immedi 
ately  prepared  his  canoe  to  visit  the 


147 

chiefs,  and  he  wanted  also  to  inquire  of 
me  what  I  thought  respecting  the  ship* 
We  loaded  our  canoe  and  made  sail  for 
Milly,  where  the  chiefs  were.  We  ar 
rived  at  night,  and  found  a  great  num 
ber  of  natives  collected  on  the  beach,  to 
see  if  we  had  any  fish.  We  hauled  up 
our  canoe  for  the  night,  and  the  natives 
began  to  question  me  about  the  ship. — 
I  told  them  I  did  not  know,  concluding 
it  would  be  good  policy  to  say  but  little 
on  the  subject.  The  natives  crowded 
round  me  in  great  numbers  ;  and  I  did 
not  see  Lay  till  he  came  to  rne.  I  in 
quired  of  him  what  he  had  seen,  and  he 
informed  me  that  there  had  been  a  ship 
in  sight  about  half  an  hour  before  sun 
set,  and  that  she  was  near  enough  for 
him  to  see  them  take  in  their  fore  and 
mizen  top  gallant  sails,  but  could  give 
no  definite  account  of  her,  as  she  was 
soon  out  of  sight.  We  were  not  allow 
ed  to  be  together  long ;.  and  I  went  to 
rest  as  usual,  but  could  not  sleep. — 
*'  Hope  springs  eternal  in  the  human 
breast"— and  hope  that  the  ship  which 


14S 

had  been  seen  had  come  to  deliver  us 
from  savages  and  transport  us  to  our 
native  country  and  ddar  friends,  had  an 
Influence  on  my  feelings  more  power 
ful  than  sleep,  and  imagination  was  busy 
through  the  night  in  picturing  scenes  of 
future  happiness. 

But  the  prospect  of  our  being  releas 
ed  from  o  ur  unpleasant  situation  was  not 
very  flattering.  Early  next  morning  I 
asked  and  obtained  permission  from  my 
master,  to  pay  a  visit  to  Lay,  before  pas 
sing  round  to  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Island*  Accompanied  by  my  master's 
son  and  several  others,  I  went  to  the 
hut  where  Lay  lived,  and  we  had  the 
pleasure  of  another  interview  ;  but  it 
was  of  short  duration,  for  we  were  not 
allowed  to  be  together  more  than  a 
quarter  of  an  hour.  I  returned  to  my 
masters  canoe,  and  there  continued  till 
the  middle  of  the  day  ;  we  then  launch- 
ed  anil  set  sail  for  Tabanawort*  where 
we  arrived  the  fore  part  of  the  night. — 
Early  next  morning  we  prepared  for  a 
fishing  cruise,  had  pretty  good  success, 


149 

and  returned  just  before  night,  made  a 
fire,  cooked  some  fish,  and  ate  a  deli 
cious  supper. 

Our  canoe  being  leaky  and  very  much 
out  of  repair,  my  master  and  I  commen 
ced  taking  her  to  pieces,  foe  the  pur 
pose  of  re-building  her ;  and  we  were 
occasionally  employed  upon  her  nearly 
two  months,  when  we  launched  her,  and 
commencing  fishing  business,  had  alter 
nately  good  and  bad  success.  One  day 
we  had  the  good  fortune  to  enclose,  in  a 
kind  of  wear  made  for  the  purpose,  a 
large  quantity  of  fishes,  and  with  a 
scoopnet  we  caught  a  plentiful  supply. 
After  cooking  them,  we  set  out  with  a 
quantity  to  dispose  of  to  the  chiefs  of 
Milly,  where  we  arrived  before  night, 
on  the  same  day  of  sailing;  Very  soon 
after  our  arrival  I  saw  Lay  and  his  mas 
ter  approaching  the  canoe,  and  we  once 
more  had  a  short  but  pleasant  interview. 
I  inquired  of  Lay  how  he  fared,  as  to 
food,  &c.  His  reply  was,  better  than 
he  expected,  and  that  the  natives  were 
kind  to  him,  always  giving  him  his  part;, 
14* 


150 

I  informed  him  I  had  a  basket  of  fish  re., 
served  for  him  as  a  present,  which  he 
requested  me  to  keep  till  dark,  that  he 
might  be  enabled  to  carry  them  home 
without  having  them  all  begged  by  the 
aatives.  He  came  at  ni^ht  for  the  fish, 
and  I  retired,  agreeably  to  my  master's 
wishes  to  sleep  in  the  canoe,  to  prevent 
the  natives  from  stealing  the  remainder 
of  the  fish  that  were  on  board.  The 
next  morning  my  master  was  highly 
pleased  to  find  that  nothing  was  missing ; 
arid  gave  me  liberty  to  go  and  see  Lay. 
I  went  to  the  hut  and  found  him  with 
his  master.  They  gave  me  a  cordial 
welcome,  and  presented  me  with  some 
cocoanuts  in  return  for  the  fish.  Lay's 
master  inquired  of  me  very  particularly 
respecting  my  master,  and  the  quantity 
offish  we  caught.  I  then  returned  to 
the  canoe,  carrying  the  cocoanuts,  to 
deposite  in  the  hold.  My  master  asked 
me  where  I  got  them  ;  I  told  him  Lay's 
master  gave  them  to  me.  If  this  minute 
detail  should  appear  unimportant  to  the 
reader,  he  may  draw  a  moral  from  it ; 


151 

for  it  evinces  that  my  master  was  like 
other  masters,  desirous  to  know  if  his 
servant  canae  honestly  in  possession  of 
the  cocoanuts.  He  then  ordered  me 
and  his  son  to  launch  the  canoe,  which 
we  did,  got  under  sail  lor  the  Island  we 
left  the  day  before,  and  arrived  back  at 
night.  We  learned  that  during  our  ab 
sence  the  natives  had  caught  a  consider 
able  quantity  of  fish  ;  and  in  a  few  da^s 
we  caught  a  large  quantity  more  ;  load 
ed  our  canoe,  and  embarked  for  one  of 
the  head  Islands  to  pay  a  visit,  where 
we  stopped  some  time.  On  our  return, 
we  commenced  catching  a  kind  of  fish 
called  Dy  the  natives  kitrick.  They 
are  about  the  size  of  a  small  cedfish ; 
and  the  manner  of  taking  them  is  very 
curious — they  make  a  line  of  the  husk 
of  cocoanuts,  about  the  size  of  a  cod 
line  ;  they  then  in  the  canoe  pass  round 
the  fish  to  the  wind  ward  of  the  flat, 
then  lie  to  till  a  considerable  quantity  of 
them  get  on  the  flat,  then  square  away 
by  the  wind  and  run  down  and  go  round ... 
the  flat  with  this  line,  and  thus  catch 


152 

them,  men,  women,  and  children  being 
employed.  I  have  known  them  catch 
one  hundred  at  a  draught.  The  fish 
are  afraid  of  the  line,  and  when  enclo 
sed,  taken  by  a  scoopnet.  Alter  taking 
a  sufficient  quantity,  they  go  on  shore 
to  prepare  for  cooking  them,  which  is 
done  by  digging  a  large  hole  in  the 
earth,  filling  it  with  wood,  covered  with 
stones.  The  wood  is  then  consumed, 
which  heats  the  stones — the  fish  are 
wrapped  in  leaves  to  prevent  them  from 
falling  to  pieces,  then  covered  with  green 
leaves,  and  cooked  by  the  heat  of  the 
stones.  About  an  hour  is  required  to 
cook  them  sufficient  for  eating.  Their 
manner  of  curing  fish,  is,  to  split  them 
and  dry  them  in  the  sun,  without  using 
salt.  Thus  cured,  they  will  keep  some 
time.  While  we  were  employed  in  fish 
ing,  Lay  came  to  the  Island,  in  compa 
ny  with  a  native,  to  visit  me  ;  but  did 
not  stay  long,  for  the  chief  sent  for  him* 
fearing,  as  1  afterwards  found  out,;that 
they  should  lose  us.  From  some  hints 
that  had  been  dropped,  a  report  had  got 


153 

in  circulation  that  my  master  and  Lam- 
awoot,  (Lay's  master,)  intended  to  leave 
their  Islands,  and  embark  for  an  Island 
to  the  north  west,  where  the  king  lived, 
and  carry  us  with  them  as  a  great  curi 
osity.  Lay  was  carried  back  to  the 
chiefs — the  head  one  sent  an  express  to 
my  master  and  Lay's  to  come  and  see 
him — they  made  preparations  and  set 
sail  for  Milly  ;  where  they  were  close 
ly  questioned  respecting  their  going  to 
the  other  Island,  &c.  &c.  They  deni 
ed  that  they  had  even  intimated  any 
such  design  ;  which  was  false,  for  I  had 
frequently  heard  them  talking  on  the 
subject  myself,  but  kept  silent,  as  it  ap 
peared  to  be  a  great  crime  for  any  td 
desert  their  Islands ;  and  I  feared  the 
consequences  of  making  it  known. — 
They  then  parted  in  peace  and  friend 
ship,  arid  I  and  my  master  returned  to 
our  habitation. 

We  then  went  to  an  Island  to  catch 
fish,  and  a  disagreement  taking  place 
between  two  of  the  natives,  about  some 
trifling  affair,  the  particulars  of  which  I 


154 

did  not  learn,  one  of  them  took  a  spear 
belonging  to  the  other,  and  after  break 
ing  it  across  his  knee,  with  one  half  of  it 
killed  his  antagonist,  and  left  him.  The 
parents  of  the  man  killed,  being  present, 
laid  him  out  on  some  mats,  and  appear 
ed  to  regret  their  loss  very  much.  They 
kept  a  continual  drumming  over  the 
body  of  the  deceased  for  two  or  three 
days  ;  after  which  he  received  a  decent 
burial  on  another  Island  at  some  distance 
from  the  Island  where  he  was  killed. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HAVING  a  successful  fishing  voyage, 
we  loaded  our  canoe,  and  carried  our 
cargo  to  the  chiefs  of  l^uguoneivort.  I 
had  i he  satisfaction  of  an  interview  with 
Lay  ;  but  our  provisions  being  soon  ex 
hausted,  we  were  obliged  to  go  again  in 
search  of  fish.  At  this  time  there  was 
a,  severe  drought,  and  breadfruit  trees 
suffered  ^extremely,  many  of  them  en- 


155 

tirely  died.  The  superstitious  natives 
supposed  the  drought  was  sent  upon 
them  as  a  judgment,  because  myself  and 
Lay  were  allowed  to  live.  I  informed 
them  that  we  could  neither  make  it  rain 
nor  prevent  it ;  but  some  of  them  were 
so  ignorant  that  they  believed  we  could 
control  the  weather.  But  some  of  the 
chiefs  thought  the  drought  was  visited 
upon  them  because  they  had  killed  our 
shipmates,  and  I  was  always  ready  to 
join  with  them  in  that  opinion.  The 
drought  continued  about  four  months 
with  such  severity  that  most  of  the 
breadfruit  trees  on  the  .small  Islands 
were  so  completely  dried  up  that  they 
never  sprouted  again.  Many  of  the  ig 
norant  natives  still  insisted  that  their 
sickness  and  drought  were  occasioned 
by  suffering  us  to  live  upon  their  Isl 
ands  ;  but  this  gross  ignorance  was 
counterbalanced  by  most  of  the  chiefs, 
who  believed  differently,  and  to  their 
more  liberal  opinion  we  are  indebted 
for  our  lives. 
About  this  time  the  Islands  were  re- 


156 

freshed  by  plentiful  showers  of  rain,  and 
the  natives  assembled  at  Milly  to  sing 
for  the  breadfruit  to  come  in  abundance. 
They  said  their  singing  would  please 
Jlnit)  and  that  he  would  reward  them 
with  a  very  great  crop. 

A  disturbance  existed  between  the 
high  chief  and  his  brother  Longer f^ne. 
The  disagreement  lasted  about  nine 
months,  during  which  time  the  two 
brothers  did  not  see  or  speak  to  each 
other.  Luttuon,  the  high  chief,  then 
sent  a  canoe  to  inform  his  brother  Lon~ 
gerene  that  he  wished  to  see  him.  An 
interview  took  place,  and  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  ratified. 

During  our  stay  at  Milly,  I  had  fre 
quent  opportunities  of  seeing  Lay,  my 
fellow  sufferer;  but  the  only  relief  we 
could  afford  each  other  was  derivedfrom 
a  sympathy  of  feelings,  and  in  conver 
sations  relating  to  our  homes  and  native 
country,  by  blending  our  mutual  wishes 
for  a  safe  return,  &c.  &c.  The  reader 
can  hardly  conceive  the  unpleasantness 
of  our  situation  at  this  time — the  fam- 


157 

ine  was  so  great  that  the  tender  branch 
es  of  trees  were  cooked,  and  the  nutri- 
cious  juice  drank  as  food.     My  strength 
was  so  reduced  in  consequence  of  being 
deprived  of  my  usual  quantity  of  provis 
ions,   that  I  was  unable  to  accompany 
my  master  on  a  fishing  voyage.     When 
my  master  returned,  he  found  me  lying 
in  the  hut,  and  asked  me  what  was  the 
matter.     I  informed  him  my  indisposi 
tion  proceeded  from  hunger ;  he  cook 
ed  a  fish  and  gave  me,  which,  though  it 
afforded  me  some  relief,  was  not  half  e- 
nough  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  appetite. 
After   I  had  recruited  my  strength, 
one  day  while  engaged  in  fishing,  a  ca 
noe  came  to  the  Island  ;  and  as  soon  a§ 
the  canoe  was  near  enough  for  the  na 
tives  in  her  to  be  heard,  they  commen 
ced  hallooing  and  making  dreadful  nois 
es,  which  is  their  practice  when  war  is 
declared.     They  informed  us  that  the 
high  chief  had  killed  several  of  the  low 
er  chiefs  who  belonged  to  the  Island 
called  Alloo  ;  that  Longer ene  had  fled  to 
\lloo,   bis  own  Island;  and   that  the 
15 


158 

high  chief  was  determined  to  pursue 
and  kill  him  We  were  ordered  to  go 
immediately  to  his  assistance  ;  accord 
ingly  we  set  sail  for  the  Island  Milly, 
where  we  found  a  great  number  of  na 
tives  col  ected  for  war.  Again  I  had 
the  satisfaction  of  being  with  Lay  ;  who 
informed  me  that  they  were  going  to 
fight  the  other  party  at  Alloo  ;  and  that 
the  high  chief  had  told  him  that  he  and 
I  must  prepare  two  muskets,  and  go  and 
fight  with  them.  Luttuon  sent  for  me 
and  Lay,  and  informed  us  he  was  about 
to  have  a  battle,  and  that  we  must  pre 
pare  to  take  a  part  in  it;  We  asked 
him  if  he  had  any  powder — he  said  he 
had  a  plenty,  and  showed  us  a  small 
box,  which  contained  a  little  powder 
and  mustard  seed  mixed  together,  which, 
if  it  had  been  good  powder,  would  not 
have  made  more  than  five  or  six  char 
ges.  We  told  him  it  was  good  for  noth 
ing  ;  but  he  said  we  must  d»>  the  best 
we  could  with  it.  As  we  were  afraid 
to  offend  him,  we  went  to  work  with  the 
powder,  arid  dried  it  in  the  sun,  and 


159 

prepared  our  muskets  for  battlet — 
The  next  morning  we  launched  15  or  16 
canoes,  containing  in  all  about  200  na 
tives,  and  set  sail  for  Alloo  ^  where  we 
arrived  nnd  landed,  and  proceeded  to  a 
vi  1  age  in  order  to  give  battle  to  the  en 
emy.  On  learning  that  the  chief  of  Al 
loo  and  his  family  had  fled  in  a  canoe, 
we  returned  to  our  canoes,  made  sail  in 
pursuit  o;  the  chief,  but  did  not  overtake 
him.  After  returning  and  spending  a 
day  or  two  at  the  Island  of  Alloo,  we 
launched  our  canoes  and  went  to  our 
respective  homes,  and  heard  no  more 
oi  the  war. 

Some  time  after  my  master  returned 
to  the  Island  where  we  usually  resided, 
a  carioe  came  and  brought  the  informa 
tion  that  a  vessel  was  anchored  near 
one  of  the  head  Islands — that  she  carri 
ed  guns  on  each  side,  and  had  a  hun* 
dred  men — that  they  (the  natives  that 
brought  the  news)  had  been  on  board 
of  the  vessel,  and  received  presents  of 
beads,  which  they  had  on  their  necks. 
The  natives  said  the  vessel  was  not  like 


JtfO 

our  ship  which  we  came  in,  but  had  on 
ly  two  masts.     I  told  them  we  had  ves 
sels  of  all  descriptions,  some  with  one 
mast  only.    They  said  the  men  on  board 
did  not  look  like  us,  and  that  they  were 
very  saucy.     I  informed  the  natives  the 
vessel  was  a  war  vessel,  and  that  if  mo 
lested  by  the  natives,  they  would  shoot 
them.      The  natives    said  they  would 
take  the  vessel  and  kill  all  the  men  on 
board,     I  told  them  their  safety  con 
sisted  in  friendship,  and  that  any  hos 
tile  attack  on  the  crew  of  the  schooner 
would  Lead  to  their  own  destruction. — 
They  then  set  sail  for  Milly,  to  inform 
the  chiefs  of  the  arrival  of  the  vessel  at 
the  head  Island.     The  chiefs  of  Milly 
gave  orders  to  launch  the  canoes,  15  in 
number,  to  go  and  take  the  schooner. 
These  canoes  were  manned  by  200  na 
tives.     My  master's  canoe  not  being  in 
perfect  repair,   we  could  not  join  the 
party.     On  the  night  of  the  25th,  (Nov.) 
we  saw  several  of  the  canoes  returning 
towards  the  Island  where  I  was.     From 
one  of  the  canoes  landed  the  high  chief* 


161 

who  began  to  question  me  respecting 
the  vessel,  I  told  hm  I  had  not  seen 
the  vessel,  and  of  course  coald  nit  tell 
much  about  her  ;  but  that  I  expected 
she  had  come  after  me  and  Lay,  and 
that  she  would  have  us.  He  then  said 
he  had  better  kill  us  both,  and  then  there 
would  be  no  one  to  tell  that  the  natives 
had  killed  the  rest  of  our  crew.  1  told 
him  that  the  people  on  board  the  schoo; 
ner  knew  there  were  t\yo  alive,  and  if 
they  killed  us,  the  crew  of  the  vessel 
would  kill  all  the  natives.  This  app ear 
ed  to  perplex  his  mind,  and  he  shortly 
kit  me,  and  retired  to  rest. 

On  the  next  morning,  26th,  the  chief 
again  questioned  me  respecting  the  ves 
sel,  but  I  could  give  him  no  particular 
information,  as  I  had  not  seen  her. — 
The  natives  then  commenced  knitting 
up  leaves  to  inquire  ot  their  god,  who, 
they  said,  would  inform  them  what  was 
be^t  to  be  done.  Towards  night  they 
departed,  leaving  me  with  my  master, 
giving  him  strict  orders  not  to  let  me 
go  to,  the  vessel,  fearing  that  I  should 
15* 


162 

not  only  remain  on  board,  but  give  in 
formation  that  my  shipmates  had  been 
murdered.  I  was  glad  to  see  them  de 
part,  for  I  feared  they  would  kill  me. — 
The  reader  can  have  but  a  faint  id^a  of 
my  teeli  gs  at  that  time  ;  nor  will  I  at 
tempt  to  describe  them. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  next  day, 
(27th, ;  a  canoe  came  to  the  Island  which 
had  been  boarded  by  a  boat  from  the 
schooner.  The  natives  offered  the  men 
in  the  boat  some  cocoanuts,  which  they 
would  not  accept.  The  boat  then  pro 
ceeded  towards  the  Island  of  Milly. — 
The  natives  informed  me  that  the  men 
in  the  boat  inquired  after  the  men  who 
were  left  there  by  the  ship  Globe  ;  but 
they  would  not  give  any  information 
where  they  were.  The  canoe  left  the 
Island,  and  we  went  to  rest,  The  next 
day  passed  without  hearing  any  thing  of 
the  schooner  ;  but  the  day  following, 
(29th  of  Nov.)  as  I  was  walking  in  the 
woods  in  the  afternoon,  I  heard  a  dread 
ful  outcry  for  Hussey.  I  ran  to  the  hut 
to  learn  the  cause,  and  to  my  unspeaka- 


163 

ble  joy,  I  discovered  that  one  of  the 
schooner's  boats  was  on  the  beach, 
waiting  for  me,  the  men  ail  a<*med  and 
equipped  for  battle.  As  I  approached, 
the  Lieutenant  spoke  to  me  and  told  me 
to  come  to  him.  I  went  and  sat  di  vn 
by  him.  He  asked  me  several  ques 
tions,  but  my  feelings  were  «o  overcome 
and  agitated,  that  I  know  noi  whether 
I  replied  in  English,  or  the  language  of 
the  natives.  While  we  were  sitting  to 
gether,  the  old  man  whom  I  had  always 
called  master,  but  who  was  now  willing 
to  be  considered  my  servant,  asked  me 
if  the  white  people  were  going  to  kill 
him.  The  Lieutenant  inquired  of  me 
to  know  the  purport  of  the  old  man^s 
question ;  I  told  him  he  was  afraid  of 
being  killed.  The  Lieutenant  replied 
that  he  should  not  be  hurt,  if  he  behaved 
himself  properly. 

We  then  walked  round  the  Island, 
and  I  collected  what  few  things  I  had,  a 
musket,  Sic.  and  made  preparations  for 
our  departure.  My  old  master  being 
unwilling  to  part  with  me,  asked  per- 


164 

mission  to  go  with  me.  I  spoke  to  the 
Lieutenant  on  the  subject,  and  he  read 
ily  consented.  We  then  set  sail,  ac 
companied  by  my  master  and  his  son. 
We  soon  fell  in  with  the  2d  Lieutenant, 
in  another  boat,  who  infor>ae.l  that  all 
the  survivors  of  the  Globe's  crew  were 
now  rescued.  The  boats  soon  lost  sight 
of  each  other,  as  night  came  on,  and 
that  in  which  I  was  arrived  at  the  Isl 
and  about  9  o'clock  in  the  evening.  We 
landed,  cooked  supper,  and  anchored 
our  boat  at  a,  little  distance  from  the 
shore  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning,  (30th,)  we  got 
under  weigh,  accompanied  by  the  other 
boat,  beat  to  the  windward,  for  the  out 
side  passage,  and  then  r*ti  d^vvn  to  the 
schooner,  and  got  along  side  at  9  o' 
clock.  I  will  leave  it  for  the  reader,  to 
picture  my  feelings  on  entering  once 
more  on  board  of  au  A  nerican  vessel, 
after  having  been  among  unmerciful 
savages  22  months.  We  soon  had  some 
breakfast,  after  which  my  hair  was  cut, 
which  was  of  two  year's  growth,  and  I 


165 

v/as   furnished  with  clothing,  and  re 
mained  on  board  till  the  next  day. 

From  this  date  to  the  time  of  our  ar 
rival  in  the  United  States,  all  the  im 
portant  incidents  and  facts  which  trans 
pired,  will  be  found  in  the  precedi  ig  pa 
ges,  arranged  from  the  journal  kept  by 
Lay. 

After  expressing  my  thanks  to  all  who 
Assisted  to  rescue  us  from  savage  bon 
dage,  and  my  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  a 
safe  return  to  my  friends  and  native 
land,  I  bid  the  reader  a  respectful  fare 
well. 


JSL  VOCABULARY 

Of  Word?  and  Phrases,  used  by  the  natives  of  tfie 
Alulgrave  Islands,  with  tftdr  dcfi-iifirms  'ind  so 
spe't  ,nd  divided  in  sitllvvlea  a*  to  give  the  Render 
a  very  clear  understanding  ofth'  pronunciation. 


Beard 
Iron 
A  sail 
An  oar 

Steering 
Sailing 
Sleep 
Awake 

Cor  y  ack         Dark           Mai  roak 
Maale                Ligrht           Mar  rum 
Wo-'d  \f  lah       Ni^ht          Botng 
Thii.  bet           Day           Bonn 
Kib  b^t  tebet    Growing    Aung 
Derraukyruk  Drowned    MaF  long 
Mad  du  rah       Oil             Bin  in  yep 
Mira  mit          Water        Rir  rea 

AlongtimeEt 

Yourself    Guay 

Sleepy 

Yictu/ils 

Scrape 

Bu'ld 

Hold  on 

Man 

Woman 

Boy 

G.rl 

An  infant 


166 

Wusketoe  To  cotch  up- 


White 

Red 
Dunk 
Fin  ,e''s 
A  ivrJ 
A  k.iife 


^  ork 

An  adze 


Mi\  tegee  Giving        Hi  dir  inge 

Cu<'k  con  A  rope       Tow 

Goo  «ock  Wntd          Gut  to 

Ae  Rain  Wuot 

Coj.pv   diny  Lay  do«n  Bah  boo 

iVinm  marn  Gt-t  up       Per  rv  cock 

Civ  rah  Not  good   N<'»n  nah 

Lori   rick  Very  good  En  n» 

Lid  rick  Ta'king      Coin  el  t»h  te 

Hi  d  r  ry  Fighting     Tarr  yin  ia 

Eg  gil  !v  mil  Krl  Mori  ny 

Em  mew  it  Snioke        Bout 

Em  mirt  Sand  Boak 

E  ranck  D  veing      Doo  lock 

Jan  thurt  Digging      C'ob  e  coob 

Paw  o  B«»rv  Col  ly  boo  ny 

.Noad  rick  Seving       Thil  thil 

Angue  ot  Eat  Mong  ah 

Dtrry   bol  Singing      Al  lil 

Jai  losk  Sun  Al 

Merry  Moon          A 1  lung 

Ooj^oet  Star  Ej<  w 

Bel  iy  bal  Sky  1 1»  ere  lung 

Sun  down  Doo  lock  Al 

Jew  <>n  Sun  rise     Tuck  in  Al 

Uoo  ah  To-  day      Raun  ene 

Te  lew  Yesterdayln  nay 

A  risen  To-night    Boon  t  ne 

Ri  lira  TomorrowG^en  a  raua 
Dil  je  mo     [unpuking       Mummit 
D.ljii  jp  maj'Mv\  blanket  Cawd 
AdjvMio      [onA  costume  Ene 
Ad  di!  y  m«>  je  w  Fuel  Con  ny 

Dongue  ole        Land          Yin  ny 


Grass 

Leaves 

Counting    B  <n  ne  bun 

One 

Two 

Three 

Four 

Five 

Six 

Seven 

Eight 

Nine 

Ten 


Kid  dir  rick 


A  bottle     Buck  ah 

Catling      Boo  way 

Fastening  Geal  ing 

Scaling     Mid  dart 

A  rat 

Hair 

Ear 

Eyes 

Nose 

Mouth 

C'.m 

Chief 

Forward 

Egg 

Drift 
Paddle 


167 

Hailing        An  a  IB 
Mast          Cod  jew 
A  saw        Dir  re  bars 
A  sword     Jah  jay 
A  handle    Je  j->w  er 
Cocoa  no  bot  Running    Tit  <»urt 
Lou  di!  lyg  nu'A  musket  Boo  wat 
Mid  ddt  A  «.annon  Bac  ca 

Baw  thurt          Powder 
Loung  ing    [adFire 
Chim  in  ny  gneHevving 


A  house 
Fish 
S;one 
Head 
Hand 
Foot 
A  shark 
A  spear 


Tarn  moon 

A  marn 

Lip 

Pav  lock 

Aun  am 

I  know       E  del  lah 
Yes  ing  ah 

No  Aub 

Backside    Al  by  gin 
Plaving      Cook  ke  ry 
Medicine   Oonoe 
Whale        Rat 
A  louse      Git 
Strong        Mad  jojow 
Enough      Em  mui 
Thread       Uer.      ,J|ji 
Forget       Mer  no  lock  wyLizard 
See  Lai  ly 

A  canoe,  or  any  vessel 
Put  it  down  (here 
Throw  it  away 
1  am  thirsty 
Give  me  some  drink 
Finger  nails 
Your  father 


Bow  on  ope 

K'.J  ja  icfc 

J:ck  «=•  jick 

lmm 

Ikk 

Buck  ah 

B--JF  run 

Bon 

Nane 

Bac  co 

Mor  ry 

Cocoanuts  Koree 
Breadfruit  Mah 
Go  Wy  lun» 

Come         Wy  to 
Very  large  El  lip 
Scar  or  cutGin  net 
Thunder    Daw  roort 
Lightning  Dar  rum 

Cid  re  be  lin 


Woa  or  Wah 

Lickitin  i  genny 

Jow  lock  y 

E  mar  row 

Letto  lim  ma  dirick 

Og  guck 

Gini  mum 


His  father 

My  father 

Your  mother 

JHis  mother 

My  mother 

Where  are  you  going 

What  are  you  doing 


168 

Gim  men 

Gim  mali 

Gin  mum 

Gin  nen 

Gin  nah 

Guay  te  wy  jicktit 

Quay  je  than 


Where  have  you  come  fromGuay  te  wy  to  den  air 


Is  there  any 
Qjie  hundred 
One  thousand 
What  is  the  news 
A  bag  or  pocket 
Do  you  kno\v 
What  is  that. 
What  part 
You  must  not 
A  cable  or  anchor 
A  cask  or  chest 
Chips  or  rub'jhh 
La/ing  a  rope 
A  cloud  or  squall 
Fair  weather 
Dont  say  a  word 
Sharpening  in>n  tools 
Day  before  yesterday 
Take  that  and  go 


O  ra  cy 

Jib  be  wee 

Der  rab  bin 

Ere  nin  riarn 

Pan  jaw 

Guay  del  larky 

Mer  root  thany 

E  thane 

A  mow 

Era  mi  tock 

Tub  be  tub 

Men  a  ca  noak 

Bit  the  bit 

Cur  raw 

Em  mon  Lung 

Tab  co  war  roang  aroang 

Jim  me  jim  mal 

Jay  marn 

Book  y  em  ettal 

Ma  long  a  Jung 

Rir  ret  llong  ene 


Sick  at  the 

How  large  is  this  Island 

What's  the  naineofthis  IsleT  tan  llingene 

Going  to  sea  Gib  be  lak 


THE    END, 


-no 


.  ;  --a^J 


•     '  . 


